Janica Kostelić facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Janica Kostelić

Alpine skier
Janica Kostelić in Maribor, January 2001
Disciplines	Slalom, giant slalom, super-G, downhill, combined
Born	(1982-01-05) 5 January 1982 (age 43) Zagreb, Croatia
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
World Cup debut	23 January 1998 (age 16)
Retired	April 2007 (age 25)
Website	janica.hr
Olympics
Teams	3 – (1998–2006)
Medals	6 (4 gold)
World Championships
Teams	4 – (1999–2005)
Medals	5 (5 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	8 – (1998–2003, 2005-2006)
Wins	30
Podiums	55
Overall titles	3 – (2001, 2003, 2006)
Discipline titles	7 – (3 SL, 4 K)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Representing  Croatia World Cup race podiums Event 1st 2nd 3rd Slalom 20 9 6 Giant slalom 2 3 2 Downhill 1 2 1 Super-G 1 1 0 Combined 6 1 0 International competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 4 2 0 World Championships 5 0 0 World Junior Championships 0 1 1 Olympic Games Gold 2002 Salt Lake City Slalom Gold 2002 Salt Lake City Giant slalom Gold 2002 Salt Lake City 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 Junior World Ski Championships Silver 1998 Megève Combined Bronze 1998 Megève Super-G

Ivica Kostelić

Janica Kostelić (born January 5, 1982) is a famous former alpine ski racer from Croatia. She is known for winning many medals in skiing. Janica has won four gold medals at the Olympic Games. She also won five gold medals at the World Championships. In the World Cup, she won 30 individual races and three overall titles. Many people think she is one of the greatest female ski racers ever!

Janica's Amazing Ski Career

Janica Kostelić made history in alpine skiing. She is the only woman to win four gold medals in alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics. She achieved this in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. She is also the only woman to win three alpine skiing gold medals in just one Olympics, which she did in 2002.

Janica was the overall champion in the World Cup three times. These wins were in 2001, 2003, and 2006. On January 15, 2006, she became only the third woman to win World Cup races in all five types of skiing events. These events are slalom, giant slalom, super-G, downhill, and combined. A few weeks later, on February 5, 2006, she became the second female skier to win all five types of races in a single season!

After the 2006 season, Janica decided not to compete in 2007. This was because she had a lot of pain in her knees and back. She had many surgeries during her career, including ten knee surgeries. In April 2007, when she was only 25 years old, Janica announced she was retiring from racing.

Since 2016, Janica has worked for the Croatian Government. She is the State Secretary for Science, Education, and Sports.

Early Days in Skiing

Janica was born in Zagreb, Croatia. She grew up in a family that loved winter sports. Her father, Ante Kostelić, was also her coach. Her older brother, Ivica Kostelić, is also a famous ski racer. He was the overall World Cup champion in 2011.

Janica started skiing when she was just three years old. She began serious training at nine and quickly became very good. She won many junior competitions.

At 16, Janica joined the Croatian team for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Her best result there was 8th place in the combined event. She competed in all five skiing events. She won her first World Cup slalom race in December 1999.

After this, Janica had a knee injury that kept her from competing until late 2000. But she came back strong! She won the World Cup overall title in the 2001 season with eight more victories.

Historic 2002 Winter Olympics

The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, USA, was a huge success for Janica. She won three gold medals and one silver medal. These were the first Winter Olympic medals ever for an athlete from Croatia! No other female alpine skier has won four medals or three gold medals at one Olympics.

Janica focused on the combined event. She skied well in the downhill part and then won the gold medal after the two-run slalom. She then won a silver medal in the super-G race. Next, she won her second gold medal in the slalom. Her final victory was in the giant slalom, where she was much faster than the second-place skier.

Later Success and Retirement

Janica won the World Cup overall title again in 2003. However, she missed the next season because of more knee surgeries. She had four knee surgeries in ten months and also thyroid surgery. Because of this, 2004 was the only year between 1998 and 2006 that she was not named "Croatian Sportswoman of the Year."

After more than 18 months away, she returned to World Cup racing in October 2004. At the World Championships in February 2005, she won three gold medals, even though she was not feeling well. She won the downhill, slalom, and combined events.

In the 2006 season, Janica won her third World Cup overall title. She also finished in the top 5 in all four main skiing events. She won her first World Cup races in giant slalom, super-G, and downhill that year.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, she won another gold medal in the women's alpine combined. This was her fourth Olympic gold medal, making her the most successful female skier in Olympic history! She achieved this record on February 18, 2006.

She also became the first alpine skier to win the "Sportswoman of the Year" award in 2006. This was partly because she won races in every skiing event that year.

Because of her many injuries, Janica did not compete after the 2006 season. As expected, she announced her retirement a year later, on April 19, 2007. She said the constant pain from her injuries made it too hard to continue.

World Cup Achievements

Janica won the overall World Cup title three times: in 2001, 2003, and 2006. In 2005, she was very close to winning again, finishing second by only three points. This was one of the smallest differences ever in women's World Cup history!

She also won the slalom season title three times, in the same years she won the overall titles. She would have won the trophy for the combined event four times (2001, 2003, 2005, 2006). However, this trophy was not officially given to women during her career. It was added only in 2007.

Janica won a total of 30 World Cup races. She won at least one race in every type of skiing event: 20 in slalom, 6 in combined, 2 in giant slalom, 1 in super-G, and 1 in downhill.

World Cup Season Standings

World Championship Results

Olympic Results

Personal Life

Janica Kostelić became a mother on January 1, 2019, when she gave birth to her first child.

See also

In Spanish: Janica Kostelić para niños

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
• Ante Kostelić
• List of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's race winners
• Croatian national alpine ski team