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 June 13, 1995) is a famous alpine ski racer from Slovakia. She is known for her skills in slalom and giant slalom races. Petra made history by winning the overall World Cup title in 2021. She also won a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the slalom event. She is the first Slovak skier to achieve these amazing feats!

Petra's Skiing Journey

Petra was born in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia. As a child, she trained at a local ski center called Podbreziny. This center later closed down. In 2022, Petra helped to reopen the center. She wanted to support young skiers in her hometown.

Petra won a gold medal at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics. She also represented Slovakia at the 2014 Winter Olympics. In 2014, she won another gold medal. This was in slalom at the Junior World Championships in Jasná, Slovakia.

World Cup Success

Petra started her World Cup career at age 17 in December 2012. Three years later, she won her first World Cup race. It was a slalom event in Åre, Sweden, in December 2015.

Winning in 2019

Vlhová racing in Stockholm in 2019.

In December 2018, Petra won her first World Cup giant slalom race. This was a big win for Slovakia! A few days later, she won a parallel slalom race in Oslo. This was her sixth World Cup win. It set 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. This win earned her the biggest prize money for women that season.

At the Alpine World Ski Championships in February 2019, Petra won three medals! She got a silver medal in the combined event. Then, she won Slovakia's first gold medal in the giant slalom. She also earned a bronze medal in the slalom.

The 2020 Season

Petra started the 2020 season with a second-place finish in slalom at Killington. In December 2019, she won a parallel slalom race in St. Moritz. She then had three victories in four races in January 2020. She won slaloms in Zagreb and Flachau. She also won a giant slalom in Sestriere.

Petra started competing in faster races like downhill and super-G. She wanted to win the overall World Cup title. She finished 4th in a downhill race in Crans Montana. This was her best result in that event.

The season ended early because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Petra finished third overall in the World Cup. She won her first small crystal globes for slalom and parallel events. These globes are awards for winning a specific discipline.

Winning the Overall Title in 2021

Petra had a great start to the 2021 season. She won three races in a row! These included two slaloms in Levi and a parallel giant slalom in Lech/Zürs. She won three more races that season. These were a slalom in Zagreb, a giant slalom in Jasná (her home track), and a slalom in Åre. She also got her first podium in a speed event. She finished second in a super-G race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

At the World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, she won two silver medals. One was in the combined event, and the other was in slalom.

Petra won her first overall World Cup title at the finals in Lenzerheide. She became the first Slovak skier to achieve this huge honor!

The 2022 Season

After the 2021 season, Petra changed coaches. She started the 2022 season strong. She won two slaloms in Levi. She then won three more slaloms in Lienz, Zagreb, and Kranjska Gora. She secured the slalom crystal globe (title) with a second-place finish in Schladming.

Petra made history again at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She won a gold medal in slalom! She was in 8th place after the first run. But she had the fastest second run and won by a tiny amount. She was the first Slovak alpine skier to win an Olympic medal.

After the Olympics, Petra tried to win the overall World Cup title again. She won the giant slalom in Åre. This was her sixth win of the season. She finished second overall in the World Cup standings.

2023 and 2024 Seasons

Petra Vlhová skiing in Soldeu in 2023.

In the 2023 season, Petra finished third overall in the World Cup.

She started the 2024 season well. She won a slalom race in Levi. This was her 20th career slalom victory!

World Cup Titles and Victories

Petra has won 4 World Cup titles: 1 overall title, 2 slalom titles, and 1 parallel title.

Season Titles

	Season
		Discipline
	2020	Slalom
		Parallel
	2021	Overall
		Parallel
	2022	Slalom

Race Victories

Petra has won 31 World Cup races in total.

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

World Championship Results

Petra has won several medals at the World Championships.

Olympic Results

Petra has competed in three Winter Olympics and won a gold medal.

Awards and Honors

In 2024, the president of Slovakia, Zuzana Čaputová, gave Petra Vlhová a special award. It was the Order of Ľudovít Štúr, 1st class. This is a very high honor in Slovakia.

Images for kids

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  Petra Vlhová at the Hammarbybacken World Cup in 2018.

• 

  Petra Vlhová skiing fast at the Hammarbybacken World Cup in 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