Janica Kostelić ^* (born January 5, 1982) is a female skier from Croatia, the best female skier in the world currently and one of the greatest female skiers of all times that keeps rewriting all the record books. 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.

Career

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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.

Results

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World Cup victories

Total

• 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)

• 3 slalom cup victories, 2001, 2003 and 2006

• 30 victories: 20 in Slalom, 6 in Combined, 2 in Giant Slalom, 1 in Super-G, and 1 in Downhill

By year

• 1999:
  • Combined: 1 victory (Sankt Anton (Austria))

• 2000:
  • Slalom: 2 victories (Serre Chevalier (France), Sestrières (Italy))

• 2001:
  • Slalom: 8 victories (Park City (USA), Aspen (USA), Sestrières x 2 (Italy), Semmering (Austria), Flachau (Austria), Ofterschwang (Germany), Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany))
  • Combined: 1 victory (Flachau (Austria))

• 2002:
  • Slalom: 1 victory (Altenmarkt-Zauchensee/Flachau (Austria))

• 2003:
  • Slalom: 5 victories (Park City (USA), Lenzerheide (Switzerland), Semmering (Austria), Bormio (Italy), Åre (Sweden))
  • Combined: 1 victory (Lenzerheide (Switzerland))

• 2005:
  • Slalom: 1 victory (Aspen (USA))
  • Combined: 1 victory (San Sicario (Italy))
  • Giant Slalom: 1 victory (Spindleruv Mlyn (Czech))

• 2006:
  • Downhill: 1 victory (Bad Kleinkirchheim (Austria))
  • Super-G: 1 victory (Bad Kleinkirchheim (Austria))
  • Combined: 2 victories (St. Moritz (Switzerland)), (Hafjell-Kvitfjell Norway)
  • Slalom: 3 victories (Ofterschwang (Germany)), (Levi (Finland)), (Åre (Sweden))
  • Giant Slalom: 1 victory (Åre (Sweden))

Winter Olympics

• 1998 Winter Olympics at Nagano
  • Combined 8th
• 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City
  • Slalom Gold
  • Giant Slalom Gold
  • Combined Gold
  • Super-G Silver
• 2006 Winter Olympics at Turin
  • Combined Gold
  • Super-G Silver
  • Slalom 4th

World Championships

• Vail 1999
  • Combined 7th
• St. Anton 2001
  • Slalom 5th
• St. Moritz 2003
  • Slalom 1st
  • Combined 1st
• Bormio 2005
  • Slalom 1st
  • Downhill 1st
  • Combined 1st

External links

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• Janica Kostelić official web site
• "The Snow Queen of Croatia" by IOC
• Ski World Cup statistics for Janica

1982 births | Living people | Croatian alpine skiers | Olympic competitors for Croatia | Competitors at the 1998 Winter Olympics | Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics | Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics | Winter Olympics medalists | Multiple Olympic gold medalists

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