Julia & Mark Marino

Julia and Mark Marino, a set of siblings from Winchester, have been establishing themselves nationally in snowboarding and freestyle skiing. The duo combined and won four medals just last month at the USA Snowboard Association national championships held in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Out of the four medals they bagged, two were silver and two were bronze.

Julia Marino, an avid soccer and lacrosse player as well, is a 16-year-old sophomore currently attending Arlington Catholic High School. Out of the four medals the duo won, Julia won three of them- one silver each in slope style and half-pipe, and a bronze in skier cross.

Though Julia has been maintaining consistency in her wins since 2006, she seemed pretty disappointed with her performance during the national championships. She said, “I had won gold in all 14 qualifying events leading up to nationals, so I really expected to sweep. I fell on my chest the day before in a practice round and hurt my sternum. With the altitude change and all, it was really painful. I guess, though, when you take the injury into consideration, my overall finish was satisfying, because after I hurt myself, I really wasn’t even sure if I could compete.” However, after her three-medal win, she was awarded with the title of outstanding performer by the USA Snowboard Association.

Mark Marino is just a year younger than his sister and is a freshman at Arlington Catholic High School. He bagged a bronze in skier cross after earning a berth in the final run by winning two heats against over 80 skiers! Mark said, “I was really nervous because this was my first national, but once I started, I was OK. It was a lot of fun and I met a lot of people from all over the country. Winning a medal in my first try was very exciting.” Apart from skiing, Mark enjoys playing football, and like his sister, lacrosse.

The Marino siblings have been skiing ever since the tender age of five, and hope to win many more medals in the future.