Petra Vlhová facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Petra Vlhová

Alpine skier
Vlhová in January 2018
Disciplines	Slalom, giant slalom, super-G, downhill, combined
Club	Vojenské športové centrum Dukla Banská Bystrica
Born	(1995-06-13) 13 June 1995 (age 30) Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
World Cup debut	29 December 2012 (age 17)
Website	petravlhova.sk
Olympics
Teams	3 – (2014, 2018, 2022)
Medals	1 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams	6 – (2013–23)
Medals	6 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	12 – (2013–2024)
Wins	31 – (22 SL, 6 GS, 1 PSL, 1 CE, 1 PGS)
Podiums	73 – (46 SL, 19 GS, 3 PSL, 2 CE, 1 PGS, 1 AC, 1 SG)
Overall titles	1 – (2021)
Discipline titles	3 – (SL – 2020, 2022, PS – 2020)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Representing  Slovakia World Cup race podiums Event 1st 2nd 3rd Slalom 22 15 9 Giant slalom 6 5 8 Super-G 0 1 0 Combined 0 0 1 Parallel 3 2 1 International competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 0 World Championships 1 4 1 Olympic Games Gold 2022 Beijing Slalom World Championships Gold 2019 Åre Giant slalom Silver 2017 St. Moritz Team event Silver 2019 Åre Combined Silver 2021 Cortina d'Ampezzo Combined Silver 2021 Cortina d'Ampezzo Slalom Bronze 2019 Åre Slalom Winter Youth Olympic Games Gold 2012 Innsbruck Slalom Junior World Championships Gold 2014 Jasná Slalom Bronze 2012 Roccaraso Slalom

Petra Vlhová (born 13 June 1995) is a famous Slovak alpine ski racer. She is best known for her skills in slalom and giant slalom events. Petra made history by winning the World Cup overall title in 2021. She also won a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the slalom event. These achievements made her the first Slovak skier to reach such high levels of success.

Petra's Skiing Journey

Petra Vlhová was born in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia. As a child, she trained at a local ski center called Podbreziny. This center helped her develop her early skiing talents. Petra later supported efforts to reopen the center for young skiers.

Petra showed her talent early on. She won a gold medal at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics. She also represented Slovakia in the 2014 Winter Olympics. In 2014, she won another gold medal in slalom at the Junior World Championships in Jasná, Slovakia.

World Cup Highlights

Petra Vlhová started her World Cup career at age 17 in December 2012. Her first big win came three years later. She won a slalom race in December 2015 in Åre, Sweden.

Amazing 2019 Season

Vlhová skiing in Stockholm, 2019

In December 2018, Petra achieved a first for Slovakia. She won a World Cup giant slalom race in Semmering, Austria. A few days later, she won a parallel slalom in Oslo. This was her sixth World Cup win, setting a new record for Slovak alpine skiers.

In January 2019, Petra won the slalom in Flachau. She had been finishing second to Mikaela Shiffrin in earlier races. At the Alpine World Ski Championships in February 2019, Petra won three medals. She earned a silver in the combined event. Then, she won Slovakia's first gold medal in the giant slalom. She also took home a bronze medal in the slalom.

Success in 2020

Petra started the 2020 season with a strong performance. She earned her first podium finish in Killington, coming in second in slalom. She won a parallel slalom race in St. Moritz in December 2019. Petra then had three victories in four races in early 2020. She won slaloms in Zagreb and Flachau. She also shared a giant slalom win in Sestriere.

Petra began competing in faster events like downhill and super-G. She wanted to win the overall World Cup title. She finished 3rd in the overall World Cup standings. She also won her first small crystal globes for slalom and parallel events. These globes are awards for the best skier in a specific discipline.

Winning the Overall Title in 2021

Petra had a fantastic start to the 2021 season. She won three races in a row: two slaloms in Levi and a parallel giant slalom in Lech/Zürs. She continued to win, taking slaloms in Zagreb and Åre, and a giant slalom in Jasná. Petra also earned her first podium in a speed event, finishing second in a super-G race.

At the World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, she won two silver medals. One was in the alpine combined, and the other in slalom. Petra secured her first overall World Cup title at the finals in Lenzerheide. She became the first Slovak skier to achieve this amazing feat.

Olympic Gold in 2022

After her big win, Petra changed coaches. She hired Mauro Pini from Switzerland. She started the 2022 season strongly, winning two slaloms in Levi. She won three more slaloms in Lienz, Zagreb, and Kranjska Gora. She secured the slalom crystal globe with a second-place finish in Schladming.

Petra made history at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She won the gold medal in slalom. She was in 8th place after the first run but skied the fastest in the second run to win. This was Slovakia's first Olympic medal in alpine skiing. Petra continued to challenge for the overall World Cup title. She won the giant slalom in Åre. She finished the season with two more podiums in slalom and giant slalom.

Recent Seasons: 2023 and 2024

In the 2023 season, Petra finished third in the overall World Cup standings. She continued her strong performance in the 2024 season. She started with a third place in giant slalom in Sölden. She then won her first slalom of the season in Levi. This was her 20th career slalom victory. Unfortunately, she was injured in mid-January 2024 and could not compete for the rest of the season.

World Cup Results

Season Titles

Petra has won 4 World Cup titles:

• 1 overall title
• 2 slalom titles
• 1 parallel title

	Season
		Discipline
	2020	Slalom
		Parallel
	2021	Overall
		Parallel
	2022	Slalom

Season Standings

This table shows Petra's ranking in different skiing disciplines each season.

^ Injured in mid-January, out for the rest of the season

Race Victories

Petra Vlhová has won 31 World Cup races in total. Most of her wins are in slalom.

Season
	Date	Location	Discipline
2016	13 December 2015	Åre, Sweden	Slalom
2017	18 March 2017	Aspen, USA	Slalom
2018	11 November 2017	Levi, Finland	Slalom
	28 January 2018	Lenzerheide, Switzerland	Slalom
2019 5 victories (3 GS, 1 SL, 1 CE)	28 December 2018	Semmering, Austria	Giant slalom
	1 January 2019	Oslo, Norway	City event
	8 January 2019	Flachau, Austria	Slalom
	1 February 2019	Maribor, Slovenia	Giant slalom
	8 March 2019	Špindlerův Mlýn, Czech Republic	Giant slalom
2020 5 victories (3 SL, 1 GS, 1 PS)	15 December 2019	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Parallel slalom
	4 January 2020	Zagreb, Croatia	Slalom
	14 January 2020	Flachau, Austria	Slalom
	18 January 2020	Sestriere, Italy	Giant slalom
	16 February 2020	Kranjska Gora, Slovenia	Slalom
2021 6 victories (4 SL, 1 GS, 1 PG)	21 November 2020	Levi, Finland	Slalom
	22 November 2020		Slalom
	26 November 2020	Lech/Zürs, Austria	Parallel-G
	3 January 2021	Zagreb, Croatia	Slalom
	7 March 2021	Jasná, Slovakia	Giant slalom
	12 March 2021	Åre, Sweden	Slalom
2022 6 victories (5 SL, 1 GS)	20 November 2021	Levi, Finland	Slalom
	21 November 2021		Slalom
	29 December 2021	Lienz, Austria	Slalom
	4 January 2022	Zagreb, Croatia	Slalom
	9 January 2022	Kranjska Gora, Slovenia	Slalom
	11 March 2022	Åre, Sweden	Giant slalom
2023 2 victories (2 SL)	10 January 2023	Flachau, Austria	Slalom
	18 March 2023	Soldeu, Andorra	Slalom
2024 3 victories (3 SL)	11 November 2023	Levi, Finland	Slalom
	21 December 2023	Courchevel, France	Slalom
	7 January 2024	Kranjska Gora, Slovenia	Slalom

Podiums

This table shows all the times Petra Vlhová finished in the top three (gold, silver, or bronze) in World Cup races.

Season	Podiums
	Super G			Giant slalom			Slalom			Parallel			Combined			Total
																			Σ
2016							1		2							1		2	3
2017							1	1	1							1	1	1	3
2018							2	1			1	1			1	2	2	2	6
2019				3		1	1	5	2	1	1					5	6	3	14
2020				1	1		3	2		1						5	3		8
2021		1		1		2	4	1		1						6	2	2	10
2022				1	2	2	5	2	1							6	4	3	13
2023					1	2	2	1	3							2	2	5	9
2024					1	1	3	2								3	3	1	7
Total	0	1	0	6	5	8	22	15	9	3	2	1	0	0	1	31	23	19	73
	1			19			46			6			1			73

World Championship Results

Petra has competed in many World Championships, winning several medals.

Olympic Results

Petra has competed in three Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal in 2022.

Awards and Honors

Petra Vlhová has received special recognition for her achievements.

• In 2019, she won a Crystal Wing Awards.
• In 2024, the president of Slovakia, Zuzana Čaputová, gave Petra the Order of Ľudovít Štúr, 1st class. This is a very high honor in Slovakia.

Images for kids

• 

  Vlhová in Hammarbybacken World Cup 2018

• 

  Vlhová in Hammarbybacken World Cup 2018

See also

In Spanish: Petra Vlhová para niños

• List of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's race winners
• List of Youth Olympic Games gold medalists who won Olympic gold medals