Janica Kostelić

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Medal record
Center
Janica Kostelić
Woman's alpine skiing
Olympic Games
Gold 2002 Salt Lake City Slalom
Gold 2002 Salt Lake City Giant slalom
Gold 2002 Salt Lake City Alpine combined
Gold 2006 Turin Combined
Silver 2002 Salt Lake City Super-G
Silver 2006 Turin Super-G
World Championships
Gold 2003 St. Moritz Slalom
Gold 2003 St. Moritz Combined
Gold 2005 Bormio Slalom
Gold 2005 Bormio Downhill
Gold 2005 Bormio Combined

Janica Kostelić [ˈjanitsa ˈkɔstɛlitɕ] (born January 5, 1982) is a female skier from Croatia, considered one of the greatest female skiers of all time. She is the only woman to win four gold medals in alpine skiing at the Winter Olympic Games (in 2002 and 2006), and the only woman to win three alpine Olympic gold medals in one year (2002). She was World Cup champion in 2001, 2003 and 2006. On January 15, 2006 Kostelić became only the third woman in World Cup history (after Swede Pernilla Wiberg and Austrian Petra Kronberger) to win World Cup races in all of the sport's five disciplines. On February 5, 2006 Janica became the second female skier (after Petra Kronberger) to win all five disciplines in one season. She also collected record number of points in one season, 1970, 10 more than Swede Pernilla Wiberg. In season 2005/06, Janica won World Cup for the third time, but also was in Top 5 in all 4 disciplines, including number 1 in slalom.

Janica was awarded Laureus World Sportswoman of 2006.

She was born in Zagreb to a winter sport family: her father Ante Kostelić is also her trainer and her older brother Ivica Kostelić is a renowned skier in his own right.

Contents

[edit] Career

After coming back from a knee injury in year 2001, she won the Alpine Skiing World Cup that year. In the 2002 Winter Olympics she won three gold medals and a silver in alpine skiing disciplines, the first Winter Olympic medals ever for an athlete from Croatia.

In 2003 she won the World Cup again. In early 2004 she was again taken away from the skiing fields by a knee injury.

She has won altogether 30 races in the World Cup (as of March 18, 2006).

At the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin she won a gold medal in women's alpine combined. That was her fourth Olympic gold medal, making her the most successful female skier in the history of the Olympic Games. This record was set on February 18, 2006, only half an hour after Norway's Kjetil André Aamodt, winner of the men's super-G, became the first Alpine skier in men's competition to win four Olympic gold medals. Due to several injuries she will not participate in the 2007 Alpine Skiing World Cup.

[edit] World Cup victories

She won 3 overall world cup victories, 2001, 2003 and 2006. In 2005 she was second with 3 points behind winner Anja Pärson - the smallest difference between 1st and 2nd place in history.

She won a total of 30 races: 20 in Slalom, 6 in Combined, 2 in Giant Slalom, 1 in Super-G, and 1 in Downhill

[edit] Overall and single discipline results

Season Discipline
2001 Overall Cup
2001 Slalom
2003 Overall Cup
2003 Slalom
2006 Overall Cup
2006 Slalom

[edit] Individual victories

Date Location Race
17 January 1999 Flag of Austria St. Anton Combined
December 5, 1999 Flag of France Serre-Chevalier Slalom
December 12, 1999 Flag of Italy Sestriere Slalom
November 18, 2000 Flag of United States Park City Slalom
November 26, 2000 Flag of United States Aspen Slalom
December 10, 2000 Flag of Italy Sestriere Slalom
December 20, 2000 Flag of Italy Sestriere Slalom
December 29, 2000 Flag of Austria Semmering Slalom
January 14, 2001 Flag of Austria Flachau Slalom
January 14, 2001 Flag of Austria Flachau Combined
January 26, 2001 Flag of Germany Ofterschwang Slalom
February 18, 2001 Flag of Germany Garmisch Slalom
January 13, 2002 Flag of Austria Saalbach Combined
March 10, 2002 Flag of Austria Altenmarkt Slalom
November 23, 2002 Flag of United States Park City Slalom
December 22, 2002 Flag of Switzerland Lenzerheide Slalom
December 22, 2002 Flag of Switzerland Lenzerheide Combined
December 29, 2002 Flag of Austria Semmering Slalom
January 5, 2003 Flag of Italy Bormio Slalom
March 13, 2003 Flag of Sweden Åre Slalom
November 27, 2004 Flag of United States Aspen Slalom
February 27, 2005 Flag of Italy San Sicario Combined
December 21, 2005 Flag of Czech Republic Špindlerův Mlýn Giant Slalom
January 14, 2006 Flag of Austria Bad Kleinkirchheim Donwhill
January 15, 2006 Flag of Austria Bad Kleinkirchheim Super-G
January 22, 2006 Flag of Switzerland Saint Moritz Giant Slalom
February 5, 2006 Flag of Austria Ofterschwang Slalom
March 10, 2006 Flag of Finland Levi Slalom
March 4, 2006 Flag of Norway Hafjell Combined
March 17, 2006 Flag of Sweden Åre Slalom
March 18, 2006 Flag of Sweden Åre Giant Slalom

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Kelly Holmes
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
2006
Succeeded by
n/a


Persondata
NAME Kostelić, Janica
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Croatian skier
DATE OF BIRTH January 5, 1982
PLACE OF BIRTH Zagreb
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH