Justyna Kowalczyk
Justyna Kowalczyk | |
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Personal information | |
Full name | Justyna Kowalczyk |
Born |
Limanowa, Poland | January 19, 1983
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
Professional information | |
Club | AZS AWF Katowice |
Skis | Fischer |
World Cup | |
Seasons | 2001– present |
Wins |
48 (all wins) 30 (World Cup) 14 (Tour de Ski) 3 (World Cup Final) 2 (Ruka Triple) |
Additional podiums |
62 (World Cup) 28 (Tour de Ski) 8 (World Cup Final) 4 (Ruka Triple) |
Total podiums | 101 |
Overall titles | 4 (2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13) |
Updated on 2013-07-12. |
Medal record | ||
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Women's cross country skiing | ||
Competitor for Poland | ||
Olympic Games | ||
Gold | 2010 Vancouver | 30 km classical |
Silver | 2010 Vancouver | Individual sprint |
Bronze | 2010 Vancouver | 15 km pursuit |
Bronze | 2006 Turin | 30 km |
World Championships | ||
Gold | 2009 Liberec | 15 km pursuit |
Gold | 2009 Liberec | 30 km |
Silver | 2013 Val di Fiemme | 30 km classical |
Silver | 2011 Oslo | 10 km classical |
Silver | 2011 Oslo | 15 km pursuit |
Bronze | 2011 Oslo | 30 km |
Bronze | 2009 Liberec | 10 km |
Justyna Kowalczyk (pronounced [jusˈtɨna kɔˈvalt͡ʂɨk] ( ), born January 19, 1983[1]) is a Polish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000. Kowalczyk is an Olympic Champion and a double World Champion. She is also the only skier who won the Tour de Ski four times in a row and one of two female skiers, who won the FIS Cross-Country World Cup three times in a row (the other one being Finn Marjo Matikainen). Kowalczyk holds the all-time record for the most wins in Tour de Ski with 14 competitions won and 29 podiums in total.
She is a member of cross country ski department of AZS AWF Katowice and is coached by Aleksander Wierietielny.
Career
Kowalczyk finished second in the individual sprint at the 2003 World Junior Championships. She finished 31st in the individual sprint event at the 2003 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Recently in Canmore, Canada, on Jan 22, 2008, Justyna Kowalczyk won the race for her second World Cup triumph. She followed in Canmore with two more bronze medals in the same World Cup event. Kowalczyk was 3rd in the 2007 World Cup. She has also won eighteen individual events at various distances and levels since 2001.
At the 2009 world championships in Liberec, Kowalczyk won two gold medals, one in the women's pursuit (7.5 km classical + 7.5 km free technique), and another one in the 30 km mass start. She also secured a bronze medal in the 10 km classical event.
She won the overall 2008–09 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup. On March 24, 2009, Kowalczyk was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
On February 27, 2010, Kowalczyk beat Norway's Marit Bjørgen by 0.3 seconds to win the gold medal in the women's 30 km classical event in the 2010 Winter Olympics. She posted a time of one hour, 30 minutes, 33.7 seconds. She earned two more medals in Vancouver, taking silver behind Bjørgen in the individual sprint classic on February 17, 2010, and bronze in the 15 km pursuit on February 19, 2010.[2]
The suspension in 2005
At the 2005 World Championships, Kowalczyk competed but was subsequently disqualified for taking dexamethasone at the Under23 (U23) OPA (Alpine Nations) Intercontinental Cup competition in Oberstdorf, Germany back on January 23, 2005. Dexamethason is a substance that is allowed Out-of-Competition but prohibited In-Competition. It acts as an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant. Kowalczyk used the substance to alleviate an Achilles tendon condition.
On June 13, 2005, the FIS Doping Panel issued a two-year suspension (January 23, 2005 – January 22, 2007) for Kowalczyk. In late June 2005 FIS determined that since dexamethasone was a glucocorticosteroid, it was classified as a specified substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency list of prohibited substances, and therefore the period of ineligibility for the first violation is at a maximum, one year's ineligibility. The FIS Doping Panel therefore reduced the suspension to one year.
Kowalczyk appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which held that Kowalczyk did not use Dexamethason to enhance her sport performance. However, she acted negligently, but the measure of the negligence did not justify a one-year term of ineligibility. According to CAS, a reduced period of ineligibility ending 8 December 2005 (the day of the hearing) provided the fair and proportionate measure of sanction.
CAS criticised the FIS Doping Panel that their decision excluded any consideration of Kowalczyk's defence that she did not use the substance to enhance her sport performance. According to CAS, Kowalczyk had disclosed and substantiated her defence that Dexamethason was not intended to enhance performance. She had submitted corresponding medical certifications to the FIS Doping Panel as proof of use in alleviating an Achilles tendon condition. Upon Kowalczyk's prima facie showing that her use of the substance was for medical reasons, the burden of proof shifted to FIS to prove the contrary.
Criticism of anti-asthma drugs
Kowalczyk criticized Marit Bjørgen and other competitors during the Olympic Games in 2010 for using anti-asthma drugs. Bjørgen won five medals in the Olympics, three of them gold.[3] The drug is allowed by FIS if prescribed by an Olympic team physician.[3] Kowalczyk later apologized for the timing of her statements, since the Games were still going on at the time.[3] The asthma medication Marit Bjørgen is using, Symbicort, has since been removed from WADA's list of banned substances.[4]
World Cup victories
Season titles
Season | Discipline |
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2008–09 | Overall |
Distance | |
2009–10 | Overall |
Distance | |
Sprint | |
2010–11 | Overall |
Distance | |
2012–13 | Overall |
Distance | |
Race victories
- Otepää – January 27, 2007 – Individual (10 km) classical
- Canmore – January 22, 2008 – (7.5 km + 7.5 km) double pursuit
- Whistler – January 17, 2009 – (7.5 km + 7.5 km) double pursuit
- Otepää – January 24, 2009 – Individual (10 km) classical
- Valdidentro – February 14, 2009 – Individual (10 km) classical
- Lahti – March 8, 2009 – (10 km) freestyle interval start
- Falun – World Cup Final - March 18–22, 2009 – (25 km)
- Kuusamo – November 28, 2009 – Individual sprint classical
- Rogla – December 20, 2009 – (15 km) classical mass start
- Tour de Ski – January 1–10, 2010 – (60 km)
- Otepää – January 16, 2010 – Individual (10 km) classical
- Rybinsk – January 23, 2010 – (7.5 km + 7.5 km) double pursuit
- Canmore – February 6, 2010 – Individual sprint classical
- Tour de Ski – January 9, 2010/2011 – (60 km)
- Rybinsk – February 4, 2011 – (5 km + 5 km) double pursuit
- Rogla – December 17, 2011 – (10 km) classical mass start
- Tour de Ski – January 8, 2011/2012 – (63 km)
- Otepää – January 21, 2012 – Individual sprint classical
- Otepää – January 22, 2012 – Individual (10 km) classical
- Moscow – February 2, 2012 – Sprint (1.5 km) freestyle
- Szklarska Poręba – February 18, 2012 – Individual (10 km) classical
- Canmore – December 13, 2012 – Individual (10 km) classical
- Canmore – December 16, 2012 – (7.5 km + 7.5 km) double pursuit
- Tour de Ski – January 6, 2012/2013 – (50 km)
- Davos – February 16, 2013 – Individual sprint classical
- Lahti – March 10, 2013 – (10 km) classical interval start
- Drammen - March 13, 2013 - Individual sprint classical
- Lillehammer - December 7, 2013 - (10 km) classical interval start
- Asiago - December 21, 2013 - Individual sprint classical
- Szklarska Poręba – January 19, 2014 – (10 km) classical mass start
Total podiums
- Otepää – January 7, 2006 – Individual (10 km) classical (3. place)
- Otepää – January 27, 2007 – Individual (10 km) classical (1. place)
- Kuusamo – December 2, 2007 – Individual (10 km) classical (3. place)
- Canmore – January 22, 2008 – (7.5 km + 7.5 km) double pursuit (1. place)
- Canmore – January 23, 2008 – Individual sprint classical (3. place)
- Canmore – January 25, 2008 – (10 km) freestyle interval start (3. place)
- Liberec – February 16, 2008 – (10 km) freestyle interval start (2. place)
- Bormio – March 16, 2008 – (10 km) freestyle interval start (2. place)
- Kuusamo – November 29, 2008 – Individual sprint classical (3. place)
- Whistler – January 16, 2009 – Individual sprint classical (2. place)
- Whistler – January 17, 2009 – (7.5 km + 7.5 km) double pursuit (1. place)
- Otepää – January 24, 2009 – Individual (10 km) classical (1. place)
- Valdidentro – February 14, 2009 – Individual (10 km) classical (1. place)
- Lahti – March 8, 2009 – (10 km) freestyle interval start (1. place)
- Trondheim – March 12, 2009 – Individual sprint classical (3. place)
- Trondheim – March 14, 2009 – (30 km) classical mass start (2. place)
- Falun – World Cup Final - March 18–22, 2009 – (25 km) (1. place)
- Kuusamo – November 28, 2009 – Individual sprint classical (1. place)
- Rogla – December 19, 2009 – Individual sprint classical (2. place)
- Rogla – December 20, 2009 – (15 km) classical mass start (1. place)
- Tour de Ski – January 1–10, 2010 – (60 km) (1.place)
- Otepää – January 16, 2010 – Individual (10 km) classical (1.place)
- Rybinsk – January 22, 2010 – Individual sprint freestyle (3. place)
- Rybinsk – January 23, 2010 – (7.5 km + 7.5 km) double pursuit (1. place)
- Canmore – February 5, 2010 – (10 km) freestyle interval start (2. place)
- Canmore – February 6, 2010 – Individual sprint classical (1. place)
- Lahti – March 6, 2010 – (7.5 km + 7.5 km) double pursuit (2. place)
- Falun – World Cup Final - March 17–21, 2010 – (25 km) (2. place)
- Kuusamo – November 28, 2010 – (15 km) freestyle interval start (2. place)
- Davos – December 11, 2010 – Individual (10 km) classical (2.place)
- La Clusaz – December 18, 2010 – (15 km) mass start (2. place)
- Tour de Ski – January 9, 2010/2011 – (60 km) (1. place)
- Otepää – January 22, 2011 – Individual (10 km) classical (2. place)
- Rybinsk – February 4, 2011 – (5 km + 5 km) double pursuit (1. place)
- Rybinsk – February 5, 2011 – Individual sprint classical (3. place)
- Drammen – February 19, 2011 – Individual (10 km) classical (2. place)
- Lahti – March 12, 2011 – (5 km +5 km) double pursuit (2. place)
- Falun – World Cup Final - March 16–20, 2011 – (25 km) (2. place)
- Rogla – December 17, 2011 – (10 km) classical mass start (1. place)
- Tour de Ski – January 8, 2011/2012 – (63 km) (1. place)
- Otepää – January 21, 2012 – Individual sprint classical (1. place)
- Otepää – January 22, 2012 – Individual (10 km) classical (1. place)
- Moscow – February 2, 2012 – Sprint (1.5 km) freestyle (1. place)
- Rybinsk – February 5, 2012 – (7.5 km + 7.5 km) double pursuit (2. place)
- Nove Mesto na Morave – February 11, 2012 – (15 km) classical mass start (2. place)
- Szklarska Poręba – February 18, 2012 – Individual (10 km) classical (1. place)
- Lahti – March 4, 2012 – Individual sprint classical (3. place)
- Drammen – March 7, 2012 – Individual sprint classical (3. place)
- Oslo – March 11, 2012 – (30 km) classical mass start (2. place)
- Kuusamo – December 2, 2012 – Triple Ruka (2. place)
- Canmore – December 13, 2012 – Individual (10 km) classical (1. place)
- Canmore – December 16, 2012 – (7.5 km + 7.5 km) double pursuit (1. place)
- Tour de Ski – January 6, 2012/2013 – (50 km) (1. place)
- Liberec – January 12, 2013 – Individual sprint classical (2. place)
- La Clusaz – January 19, 2013 – (10 km) classical mass start (3. place)
- Davos – February 16, 2013 – Individual sprint classical (1. place)
- Davos – February 17, 2013 – (10 km) freestyle interval start (2. place)
- Lahti – March 10, 2013 – (10 km) classical interval start (1. place)
- Drammen - March 13, 2013 - Individual sprint classical (1. place)
- Oslo - March 17, 2013 - (30 km) freestyle mass start (2. place)
- Lillehammer - December 7, 2013 - (10 km) classical interval start (1. place)
- Asiago - December 21, 2013 - Individual sprint classical (1. place)
- Szklarska Poręba – January 19, 2014 – (10 km) classical mass start (1. place)
Stage victories
- Oberhof – January 2, 2010 – (10 km) Classical Handicap Start - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 7, 2010 – Individual (5 km) Classical - Tour de Ski
- Falun – March 19, 2010 – (2.5 km) Classical Prologue - World Cup Final
- Oberhof – December 31, 2010 – (2.5 km) Freestyle Prologue - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – January 1, 2011 – (10 km) Classical Pursuit - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 6, 2011 – (16 km) Freestyle Pursuit - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 8, 2011 – (10 km) Classical Mass Start - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – December 29, 2011 – (2.5 km) Freestyle Prologue - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – December 30, 2011 – (10 km) Classical Pursuit - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – December 31, 2011 – Sprint (1.2 km) Classical Final - Tour de Ski
- Val di Fiemme – January 7, 2012 – (10 km) Classical Mass Start - Tour de Ski
- Falun – March 17, 2012 – (10 km) Classical Mass Start - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – December 30, 2012 – (9 km) Classical Pursuit - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 3, 2013 – (15 km) Freestyle Pursuit - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 4, 2013 – Sprint (3 km) Classical Final - Tour de Ski
- Val di Fiemme – January 5, 2013 – (10 km) Classical Mass Start - Tour de Ski
- Stockholm - March 20, 2013 - Sprint (1.1 km) Classical - World Cup Final
- Kuusamo - November 29, 2013 - Sprint Classical Final - Ruka Triple
- Kuusamo - November 30, 2013 - Individual (5 km) Classical - Ruka Triple
Additional podiums
- Nove Mesto – December 28, 2007 – (3.3 km) Classical Prologue (3. place) - Tour de Ski
- Nove Mesto – December 29, 2007 – (10 km) Freestyle Handicap (3. place) - Tour de Ski
- Asiago – January 4, 2008 – (0,8 km) Sprint Freestyle (3. place) - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – December 27, 2008 – (2.8 km) Freestyle Prologue (3. place) - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – December 28, 2008 – (10 km) Classical Handicap Start (3. place) - Tour de Ski
- Falun – March 20, 2009 – (2.5 km) Freestyle Prologue (3. place) - World Cup Final
- Falun – March 21, 2009 – (10 km) Mass Pursuit (3. place) - World Cup Final
- Oberhof – January 1, 2010 – (2.8 km) Freestyle Prologue (3. place) - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – January 2, 2010 – (10 km) Classical Handicap Start (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – January 3, 2010 – Sprint (1.2 km) Classical Final (2. place) - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 6, 2010 – (16 km) Freestyle Handicap Start (3. place) - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 7, 2010 – Individual (5 km) Classical (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Stockholm – March 17, 2010 – Sprint 1.1 km Classical (2. place) - World Cup Final
- Falun – March 19, 2010 – (2.5 km) Classical Prologue (1. place) - World Cup Final
- Kuusamo - November 27, 2010 - Individual (5 km) Classical (2. place) - Ruka Triple
- Kuusamo - November 27, 2010 - (10 km) Freestyle Handicap Start (3. place)- Ruka Triple
- Oberhof – December 31, 2010 – (2.5 km) Freestyle Prologue (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – January 1, 2011 – 10 km) Classical Pursuit (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Oberstdorf – January 2, 2011 – Sprint Classical (2. place) - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 6, 2011 – 16 km Freestyle Pursuit (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 8, 2011 – 10 km Classical Final (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Falun – March 18, 2011 – (2.5 km) Classical Prologue (2. place) - World Cup Final
- Oberhof – December 29, 2011 – (2.5 km) Freestyle Prologue (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – December 30, 2011 – 10 km) Classical Pursuit (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – December 31, 2011 – Sprint (1.2 km) Classical Final (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – January 1, 2012 – 5+5 km C/F Skiathlon (2. place) - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 3, 2012 – 3 km Classical (2. place) - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 4, 2012 – Sprint (1.3 km) Freestyle Final - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 5, 2012 – 15 km Freestyle Pursuit (2. place) - Tour de Ski
- Val di Fiemme – January 7, 2012 – (10 km) Classical Mass Start (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Val di Fiemme – January 8, 2012 – (9 km) Classical Handicap Start (2. place) - Tour de Ski
- Falun – March 17, 2012 – (10 km) Classical Mass Start (1. place) - World Cup Final
- Oberhof – December 29, 2012 – (3 km) Freestyle Prologue (3. place) - Tour de Ski
- Oberhof – December 30, 2012 – (9 km) Classical Pursuit (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 3, 2013 – (15 km) Freestyle Pursuit (1. place) - Tour de Ski
- Cortina – Toblach – January 4, 2013 – Sprint (3 km) Classical Final - Tour de Ski
- Val di Fiemme – January 5, 2013 – (10 km) Classical Mass Start - Tour de Ski
- Stockholm - March 20, 2013 - Sprint (1.1 km) Classical (1. place) - World Cup Final
- Kuusamo - November 29, 2013 - Sprint Classical Final (1. place) - Ruka Triple
- Kuusamo - November 30, 2013 - Individual (5 km) Classical (1. place) - Ruka Triple
Footnotes
- ↑ sport.pl – interview – she explains that in fact she was born 19 January 1983, but a registrar made a mistake and noted 23 January, which wasn't officially corrected
- ↑ Vancouver2010.com – Athlete profile
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Cross-Country Skiing: Kowalczyk claims ladies 30 km gold".dead link] – 27 February 2010 Vancouver2010.com (AFP) article accessed 28 February 2010.
- ↑ The cycling link is used because it is the most concise text about Symbicort's removal. The list of banned substances is, of course, the same for cycling and cross-country skiing
References
- June 13, 2005 FIS Doping Control statement on Kowalczyk (Digitized version). – Accessed July 30, 2006
- July 13, 2005 FIS Newsflash statement on Kowalczyk's suspension (Digitized version). – Accessed July 30, 2006
- December 14, 2005 FIS Newsflash on her overturned suspension (Digitized version). – Accessed July 30, 2006
- Arbitration CAS 2005/A/918 Kowalczyk v/ FIS, award of 8 December 2005
- Justyna Kowalczyk at the International Ski Federation
- Justyna Kowalczyk awarded the most beautiful woman in Poland
- Justyna Kowalczyk Official Site
- Unofficial Site in English and Swedish
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Justyna Kowalczyk. |
Awards | ||
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Preceded by Robert Kubica |
Polish Sportspersonality of the Year 2009–2013 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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