Janica Kostelić

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Olympic medal record
Woman's Alpine Skiing
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

Janica Kostelić [ˈjanitsa ˈkɔstɛlitɕ] (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.

1 Career
2 Results
3 External links

[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] Results

[edit] World Cup victories

[edit] 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

[edit] 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))

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

[edit] External links

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

Women's Alpine skiing World Cup winners (overall)

World champions in women's slalom

World Champions in Women's Downhill

Olympic champions in women's slalom
1948: Gretchen Fraser \| 1952: Andrea Mead-Lawrence \| 1956: Renée Colliard \| 1960: Anne Heggtveit \| 1964: Christine Goitschel \| 1968: Marielle Goitschel \| 1972: Barbara Cochran \| 1976: Rosi Mittermaier \| 1980: Hanni Wenzel \| 1984: Paoletta Magoni \| 1988: Vreni Schneider \| 1992: Petra Kronberger \| 1994: Vreni Schneider \| 1998: Hilde Gerg \| 2002: Janica Kostelić \| 2006: Anja Pärson

Olympic champions in women's giant slalom
1952: Andrea Mead-Lawrence \| 1956: Ossi Reichert \| 1960: Yvonne Rüegg \| 1964: Marielle Goitschel \| 1968: Nancy Greene \| 1972: Marie-Theres Nadig \| 1976: Kathy Kreiner \| 1980: Hanni Wenzel \| 1984: Debbie Armstrong \| 1988: Vreni Schneider \| 1992: Pernilla Wiberg \| 1994: Deborah Compagnoni \| 1998: Deborah Compagnoni \| 2002: Janica Kostelić \| 2006: Julia Mancuso

Olympic Champions in Women's Alpine Combined
1936: Christl Cranz \| 1948: Trude Beiser \| 1988: Anita Wachter \| 1992: Petra Kronberger \| 1994: Pernilla Wiberg \| 1998: Katja Seizinger \| 2002: Janica Kostelić \| 2006: Janica Kostelić