On a late-October morning, Julia Kern sat in San Diego, sunlight spilling through the window after cradling her infant nephew. “He’s a cutie for sure,” she laughed. In a few short weeks, she’ll trade baby giggles for the squeak of ski pole baskets on the cold Finnish snow, but the warmth in her voice already says a lot about where she is mentally this Olympic year: grounded, grateful, and still having fun.
“It’s been a really good lead-up this year,” Kern said. “I’ve been able to stay healthy. I’ve done a lot of physical therapy on my back from my injury last year, and that’s finally going well. So being able to link consistent training together without major disruptions has been the biggest difference this year. That makes me really excited to see what will happen this season.”
The Year of Steady Rhythm
After an injury-plagued 2024 season, Kern’s return to full health has been both physical and psychological. She’s worked closely with physical therapist Brie Beckwith and coaches Kristen Bourne and Colin Rogers to rebuild her movement patterns and ski technique. “A lot of what I’m doing from my back rehab is retraining movement patterns—learning to actually use my glutes, push through the right way, fully transfer weight,” she explained. “Part of it is having less pain, which lets me move more fluidly. But it’s also about translating that from the gym to skiing.”
For the first time, she spent a full three-week training block with Bourne in New Zealand, where daily feedback deepened their connection. “That was really cool because I’ve never had that before,” Kern said. “It’s one thing to text once a week; it’s another to work together every single day. We built a real rhythm.”
That word—rhythm—is perhaps the throughline of Kern’s 2025 Olympic campaign. Rhythm in training, in recovery, in how she manages a long World Cup season without burning out. Her “don’t reinvent the wheel” approach to the Olympic year reflects a maturity hard-won through injury and experience. “You do what’s working well,” she said. “Changing things is always a risk.”
Learning the Language of the Body
If Kern’s early career was marked by her ability to push, her recent evolution is defined by knowing when to pull back. “Recovery is a big one,” she said. “Not just lying in bed—but mental recovery, physical therapy, fueling, hydration. As I get older, I spend more time on that. I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, and how to read cues—whether I’m ‘good tired‘ or ‘bad tired.’“
Her typical week includes two or three intensity sessions, distance training, and strength work, but with flexibility to fit around life: weddings, visits home, mountain-bike trips. “Working around the life schedule is what makes it rewarding,“ she said. “You’re excited to go do it, and you also feel like you can do all those fun life things too.”
That balance shows in how she approaches her mental game. Kern has worked with the same sports psychologist for over five years, meeting weekly or monthly. Together, they’ve developed what she calls a “good energy“ framework: a way to make decisions rooted in joy rather than obligation. “It doesn’t mean bouncing off the walls,“ she explained. “It means asking: What makes me feel good in skiing? If I’m dreading something because I’m missing an important life event, that probably isn’t bringing me good energy. So I make decisions based on that.”
Patience, she says, has been her greatest teacher. “Everyone has their bumps in the road,“ she said. “Taking those as learning experiences rather than failures is huge. Setbacks force you to approach things differently, and you can actually learn a lot about yourself that way.”
A Culture of Team First
If there’s a single quality that defines Kern, according to U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Matt Whitcomb, it’s her blend of positivity and perseverance. “She’s had a hard road,“ Whitcomb said. “Even as a junior, she battled compartment syndrome, mono, back troubles, shoulder troubles, nerve issues—you name it. That would defeat most athletes. But despite it all, Julia goes on to win World Cup and World Championship podiums.”
Whitcomb sees her as both a survivor and a student. “She had incredible leaders to follow—Sophie, Liz, Kikkan, Sadie—and she was always listening, always learning,“ he said. “Julia’s a scholar. Her parents are scholars, her sister’s a scholar. She comes from a learning family. And now she’s the sum of all those experiences. She reminds me so much of Kikkan Randall—so driven individually, but without a team to celebrate it with, she’d quit skiing. Julia’s the same way: such a team-oriented person.”
That team ethos is something Kern now passes along to younger teammates, such as Kate Oldham. “I really appreciated when older athletes just showed by doing,“ Kern said. “Now I try to do the same. When we do race prep, anyone who wants can join. Like at World Champs—Kate, Jessie, Rosie, and I practiced that final corner together. It was so slushy and tricky, and Kate ended up being the best one out of all of us. So we said, ‘Okay, we’re learning from her here.‘ Everyone has value on this team.”
It’s a culture built not on hierarchy, but on collaboration—crafting beaded bracelets during camps, sharing meals, and creating ways to connect off the snow. “It’s easy to be isolated in hotel rooms,“ Kern said. “We make time for activities that bring us together. Everyone brings something.”
Learning from Leaders, Leading by Example
When asked what she’s learned from her longtime teammates Rosie Brennan and Jessie Diggins, Kern doesn’t hesitate. “Rosie’s been such a great example of someone who’s had more adversity than maybe anyone I know and still shows up for the team,“ Kern said. “When I was first named to the team and had compartment-syndrome surgery, Rosie—who I didn’t even know—emailed me. She told me it would be tough but that I’d get through it. That stuck with me.”
From Diggins, Kern learned the art of curiosity. “Jessie never goes around thinking, ‘I’m the fastest in the world, I know everything,‘” she said. “She’s always got a growth mindset—always wanting to follow someone, to learn something. That’s really rare for someone at the top.”
Whitcomb has noticed the same instinct. “Julia’s evolved from someone who needed guidance into someone others now look to,“ he said. “She embodies that positive feedback loop of mentorship that defines this team.”
Mental Toughness in the Grind
On the World Cup circuit, there’s little room for reflection. Races pile up; travel blurs weeks together. Kern’s approach to a long season is both pragmatic and optimistic. “I love to race,“ she said. “The World Cup is part of the bigger plan. Early season, we’re still training on the road. You’re not trying to peak at Ruka. It’s about understanding where you are in the load of the season.”
She deliberately builds in breaks—two weeks at home after the Tour de Ski, Christmas with her boyfriend, family visiting during the Olympics. “Those resets make all the difference,“ she said. “They help you stay excited.”
Her outcome goals are clear: make sprint finals consistently, push into the top-10 in distance races, and—if everything lines up—fight for a team-sprint medal at the Olympics. “That’s what I think about during hard intervals,“ she admitted. “The team sprint is a big goal of mine.”
But Kern’s definition of success extends well beyond medals. “A successful season for me,“ she said, “is staying healthy, enjoying the process, and feeling good about how I carried myself. Pressure is a privilege. I want to soak up the experience and make it fun again.”
Beyond the Podium
For Kern, the sport’s meaning has broadened. As an athlete representative to FIS and an advocate with Protect Our Winters, she’s become a voice for climate responsibility and athlete well-being. During the 2025 World Championships, when environmental protests threatened to disrupt races, Kern helped mediate between activists and organizers. “We agreed that protesting during the race wasn’t the way to send a strong message,“ she said. “Now we have an open dialogue. These things take time, but they’re moving.”
Her motivation, she said, “is less about results and more about impact.“ She wants younger athletes to know that skiing fast can be both a platform and a privilege. “I feel grateful that I had such an active childhood and want that for the next generation,“ she said. “Clean air affects everyone. Being outside isn’t something we can take for granted anymore.”
The Joy of Motion
Talk to Kern for long enough, and you realize skiing is just one part of her athletic identity. She’s an all-around mover—mountain biking, surfing, beach volleyball. “I’ve always loved doing every sport imaginable,“ she said. “Even as a kid, I just wanted to move. There’s so much value in being active and having fun. You don’t have to specialize too early. Playing lots of sports keeps it fresh and helps you avoid burnout.”
Cooking has become her creative outlet. “My boyfriend and I love to cook together,“ she said. “We have a CSA, so we get creative with whatever veggies we have. It’s like art—making the food look pretty, connecting with what we eat. It’s a kind of recovery, too.”
From the Gym to the World Stage
Whitcomb sees this blend of drive and joy as Kern’s secret strength. “Julia’s positivity isn’t surface-level,“ he said. “It’s a choice she makes every day despite setbacks. That’s what makes her such an anchor on this team.”
For her part, Kern sees the season ahead not as a culmination, but as another chapter in a long-term process. “Fourteen-year-old me would be surprised I’m still ski racing,“ she said, laughing. “Back then, I thought junior nationals were the pinnacle. I didn’t even know what the World Cup was. I think she’d be proud that I’m still doing this—and still having fun with it.”
Enjoyment is what keeps Kern chasing perfect rhythm through the snow, trusting that good energy leads to good skiing, and that joy and excellence can, in fact, coexist.
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