Carlo Janka facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Carlo Janka

Alpine skier
Janka in February 2009
Disciplines	Downhill, super-G, giant slalom, combined
Club	Obersaxen
Born	(1986-10-15) 15 October 1986 (age 38) Obersaxen, Graubünden, Switzerland
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
World Cup debut	21 December 2005 (age 19)
Retired	15 January 2022 (age 35)
Website	carlo-janka.ch
Olympics
Teams	3 – (2010, 2014, 2018)
Medals	1 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams	7 – (2009–2021)
Medals	2 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	15 – (2006–2017, 2019–2021)
Wins	11 – (3 DH, 1 SG, 4 GS, 3 SC)
Podiums	28
Overall titles	1 – (2010)
Discipline titles	1 – (SC: 2009)
Medal record Men's alpine skiing Representing  Switzerland World Cup race podiums Event 1st 2nd 3rd Giant slalom 4 2 0 Super-G 1 2 0 Downhill 3 1 7 Combined 3 2 2 Parallel 0 1 0 International alpine ski competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 0 World Championships 1 0 1 Olympic Games Gold 2010 Vancouver Giant slalom World Championships Gold 2009 Val d'Isère Giant slalom Bronze 2009 Val d'Isère Downhill

Carlo Janka (born 15 October 1986) is a famous Swiss former alpine ski racer. He grew up in Obersaxen, Graubünden, Switzerland, where he had easy access to winter sports. Carlo Janka won gold medals at both the Winter Olympics and the World Championships. He also won a big World Cup overall title and other awards.

In 2013, Carlo set a speed record during a downhill race in Wengen, Switzerland. He zoomed down the Haneggschuss section at an amazing speed of 158.77 kilometers per hour! This was the fastest part of the famous Lauberhorn slope.

Carlo Janka's Ski Racing Journey

Carlo Janka started his first international FIS race in December 2001 when he was 15. It took him four more years to reach the podium, but he became successful in all four ski disciplines. He began racing on the Europa Cup circuit in January 2004.

Early World Cup Races

Carlo had his first two World Cup starts in December 2005. However, he did not finish either race. At the Junior World Championships in 2006 in Canada, he won a bronze medal in giant slalom. He finished the 2007 season in fourth place in the overall Europa Cup standings.

Breaking Through in the World Cup

Carlo scored his first World Cup points in giant slalom at Alta Badia, Italy, in December 2006. He finished in 20th place. His big breakthrough came two years later, in November 2008. He started from the 65th position and surprisingly finished second in the downhill at Lake Louise.

Just two weeks later, he won his first World Cup race. This was a giant slalom in Val d'Isère, France. The next month, he won a super-combined race at Wengen. A month after that, he won a gold medal in giant slalom and a bronze in downhill at the 2009 World Championships in Val d'Isère.

Amazing Wins in 2009-2010

In December 2009, Carlo Janka did something amazing. He won three World Cup races in one weekend! He won the super-combined, downhill, and giant slalom on the tough Birds of Prey course at Beaver Creek, Colorado. He was the first skier to win three World Cup races in a single weekend in ten years.

In January 2010, Carlo won the Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen. This is the longest and fastest race on the World Cup tour. The day before, he almost won the super-combined again, finishing second.

Olympic Gold and Overall Title

On February 23, 2010, Carlo Janka won the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. This race took place at Whistler Creekside in Whistler, Canada.

At the World Cup finals in Garmisch, Germany, in March 2010, he became the fourth Swiss racer to win the World Cup overall title. He secured the title by winning the downhill and giant slalom races.

In October 2010, Carlo Janka received the Skieur d'Or Award. This award is given by ski journalists for great performances. He was the first Swiss male skier to get this award since 1990.

Later Career and Retirement

After the 2011 World Championships, Carlo had some health problems. But he recovered well and started training again quickly. He won the giant slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, in March 2011. This was his only victory of the 2011 season.

After the 2013–14 season, Carlo changed his ski equipment. He switched from Atomic to Rossignol. Carlo Janka retired from ski racing on January 15, 2022.

World Cup Achievements

Season Titles

Carlo Janka won these important titles during his career:

• The 2015 Combined title was unofficial, as a special trophy was not given for it between 2013 and 2015.

Season Standings

This table shows Carlo Janka's rankings in different ski disciplines each season:

Race Podiums

Carlo Janka achieved 11 wins and 28 podium finishes in World Cup races:

• 11 wins – (3 Downhill, 1 Super-G, 4 Giant Slalom, 3 Combined)
• 28 podiums – (11 Downhill, 3 Super-G, 6 Giant Slalom, 1 Parallel Giant Slalom, 7 Combined)

Season
	Date	Location	Discipline	Rank
2009	29 Nov 2008	Lake Louise, Canada	Downhill	2nd
	13 Dec 2008	Val d'Isere, France	Giant slalom	1st
	16 Jan 2009	Wengen, Switzerland	Super combined	1st
	22 Feb 2009	Sestriere, Italy	Super combined	3rd
2010	25 Oct 2009	Sölden, Austria	Giant slalom	3rd
	28 Nov 2009	Lake Louise, Canada	Downhill	3rd
	4 Dec 2009	Beaver Creek, USA	Super combined	1st
	5 Dec 2009		Downhill	1st
	6 Dec 2009		Giant slalom	1st
	18 Dec 2009	Val Gardena, Italy	Super-G	2nd
	15 Jan 2010	Wengen, Switzerland	Super combined	2nd
	16 Jan 2010		Downhill	1st
	10 Mar 2010	Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany	Downhill	1st
	12 Mar 2010		Giant slalom	1st
2011	28 Nov 2010	Lake Louise, Canada	Super-G	2nd
	14 Jan 2011	Wengen, Switzerland	Super combined	2nd
	15 Jan 2011		Downhill	3rd
	6 Feb 2011	Hinterstoder, Austria	Giant slalom	3rd
	5 Mar 2011	Kranjska Gora, Slovenia	Giant slalom	1st
2013	18 Jan 2013	Wengen, Switzerland	Super combined	3rd
2015	16 Jan 2015		Super combined	1st
	18 Jan 2015		Downhill	3rd
2016	23 Jan 2016	Kitzbühel, Austria	Downhill	3rd
	7 Feb 2016	Jeongseon, South Korea	Super-G	1st
2017	19 Dec 2016	Alta Badia, Italy	Parallel-G	2nd
	15 Mar 2017	Aspen, USA	Downhill	3rd
2020	30 Nov 2019	Lake Louise, Canada	Downhill	3rd
	7 Mar 2020	Kvitfjell, Norway	Downhill	3rd

World Championships Results

Carlo Janka competed in many World Championships. Here are his results:

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   slalom	Super-G	Downhill	Combined
2009	22	—	1	9	3	DNS2
2011	24	—	7	7	—	—
2013	26	—	DNS2	25	19	8
2015	28	—	—	12	9	6
2017	30	—	—	8	28	7
2019	32	—	—	—	35	18
2021	34	—	—	—	9	—

Olympic Games Results

Carlo Janka represented Switzerland in the Winter Olympics multiple times. Here are his results:

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   slalom	Super-G	Downhill	Combined
2010	23	—	1	8	11	4
2014	27	—	13	22	6	8
2018	31	—	—	—	—	15

See also

In Spanish: Carlo Janka para niños