Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
VON AH, Julia
VON AH, Julia. Participating with a team of Dubuque and Cedar Rapids rowers in the 1998 Nation Dragon Boat Championships in New York brought Von Ah to the attention of the Metro Athletic Dragons. After two rigorous tryouts in New York City, she found she had won the honor of competing with the Dragons in the World Dragon Boat Championships on August 26-29, 1999 at Nottingham, England.
Her tryouts began in December, 1998 when she was invited to compete for a position on the first U. S. women's national team. Included in these tests were bench presses and bent-over rows with weights. On a rowing machine, she was timed at 1,200 and 600 meters. After her rowing technique was video-taped she was sent back to Dubuque to practice with one of their paddles. Following round two of the tryouts, Von Ah purchased a rowing machine, worked on her bench press, and fine-tuned her rowing technique. By August, 1999 she had traveled to New York three times and competed with the Metro Athletic Dragons in Canada three times.
A self-employed personal trainer, Von Ah operated Bodies in Motion in Dubuque.
---
Source:
1. Piper, Andy, "Von Ah Paddles Way to National Team," Telegraph Herald, June 4, 1998, p. 13