Janica

Janica Kostelic - Women's Ski Champion

FEBRUARY 2006 - Croatia's most successful sports woman is the skiing champion Janica Kostelic. She's currently leading the Overall Women's Ski World Cup standing. Her (and her brother Ivica's moderate) success is even more remarkable, considering that Croatia has no alpine sports tradition.

On the 5th February this year, Janica added another gem to her string of successes: With the victory in the FIS World Cup Super G event, at the slalom competition in Ofterschwang in Germany, Janica Kostelic became one of three skiers winning in all 5 alpine skiing disciplines during the same winter.

Janica's winning comeback

Janica's winning return in 2005 is even more impressive considering that she has already suffered a number of serious crashes during her career. In December 1999, during a training run at St Moritz, she damaged most of the ligaments in her right knee, requiring surgery in Basel, Switzerland. She underwent another 3 surgeries in 2001 and suffered another crash in giant slalom later that year. But nothing seems to stop Janica, who has learned to get up quickly each time she might fall.

Her greatest achievement to date was in 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, when she won 3 gold medals and one silver. The gold medals were in slalom, giant slalom, and combined, while the silver medal was won in super-G.

Janica's Ski World Cup medals

Janica's Ski World Cup winnings so far include the overall winner in Ski World Cup 2001 and 2003, winning the large Crystal Cups. She also won the small Crystal Cups in 2001 and 2003, as slalom winner.

On the Ski World Cup in San Anton in 2003, she won 2 gold medals - in slalom and combined. Then in Ski World Cup 2005 she again won 3 gold medals: downhill, slalom and combined. 

Overall, Janica has so far won 24 times in Ski World Cups: 17 times in slalom, 4 times in combined, once in giant slalom, once in downhill and once in super-G. It seems certain that the 24-year-old Janica Kostelic will add more trophies to her already long list of impressive achievements, ever since she had 3 victories on the Pinocchio Ski Trophy in the mid 1990s.

With the most recently won medals, Janica is now only one medal short of being the best women's skier ever!

[More info is available at Janica's official website - janica.hr]

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