Julie Glass
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Julie Brandt |
| Nickname(s) | Atomatrix |
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
23 February 1979 Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Residence | Olympia, Washington |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Roller derby, Speed skating |
| Club |
Arizona Roller Derby Team USA 2012–2014 |
Julie Brandt Glass (born 23 February 1979), known as Atomatrix, is a roller derby skater, and former speed skater.
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan as Julie Brandt, she took up inline speed skating, and won two gold medals at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1995. She was overall sprint champion at the U.S. nationals that year, and again in 1998, also winning the Downer's Grove Championship in 1996 and 1998, and taking a gold medal at the World Cup in 1997. She took a break from skating during which she married Doug Glass, a fellow speed skater, then returned to win a silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games.[1] She also competed at the X Games, taking gold in the women's downhill inline skating at the 1998 event,[2] won gold at the 2003 Pan American Games,[3] and at the 2003 Berlin Roller Marathon.[4]
Glass took another break from skating in 2002, during which time she and her husband ran a roller rink and drive-through coffee shop in Lebanon, Oregon. After watching the 2002 Winter Olympics, she began training as an ice speed skater, quickly gaining a place on the U.S. team, training in Calgary and entering some World Cup events, despite her lack of experience in the sport. However, she decided that she lacked the motivation to excel in the discipline, and returned to inline skating.[5]
Glass subsequently moved to Olympia, Washington,[6] working with her husband on their Atom Wheels business, and gave birth to twins in 2007. The following year, she attended the WFTDA Championships of roller derby, and decided to take up the sport, under the name "Atomatrix". She joined the local Oly Rollers league, and was a key member of their team which won the Championships in 2009.[7]
As Atomatrix, she was selected for Team USA at the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup.[7] Glass moved to Arizona and skated with Arizona Roller Derby's Tent City Terrors team.[8] On August 21, 2012, it was announced that she would be leaving AZRD to return to the Oly Rollers. The transfer caused much debate, since Atomatrix was still living in Arizona while skating for the Oly Rollers. 2013 found Glass back on her inlines and competed at the World Championships in Oostende, Belgium after 8 years off. A top 8 finish in the 500 meter on the road and top American finisher in the Marathon. Glass is now back skating on Roller Derby's TEAM USA and the Arizona Tent City Terrors.[9][10]
Glass' brother, David Brandt, has played in the National Football League.[8]
References
- ↑ "Julie Brandt-Glass, Inline Speed Skating", Sports Illustrated, 9 August 1999
- ↑ "Summer X Games almanac", ESPN
- ↑ "Pan-Am Games Roundup", Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 13 August 2003
- ↑ "BERLIN MARATHON set for September 26", Runner's Web, 20 September 2004
- ↑ Robert Burnson, "Julie Glass talks about why she left the ice", Inline Planet, 22 January 2005
- ↑ "Bowe records fastest time of any woman", Ocala Star-Banner, 24 September 2004
- 1 2 "September 2011 Featured Skater: Atomatrix", Women's Flat Track Derby Association, 8 September 2011
- 1 2 "Atomatrix", Atom Wheels
- ↑ Interview: Joy Collision on the Arizona / Oly Transfer", Derby News Network, 23 August 2012
- ↑ Frye, Andy (17 September 2014). "Meet Julie Brandt-Glass, The Usain Bolt Of Roller Derby". ESPN. Retrieved 17 September 2014.