Tina Maze facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tina Maze

Alpine skier
Maze in 2014
Disciplines	Downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, combined
Club	CRN – SK Črna
Born	(1983-05-02) 2 May 1983 (age 42) Slovenj Gradec, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
World Cup debut	2 January 1999 (age 15)
Retired	7 January 2017 (age 33)
Olympics
Teams	4 – (2002–14)
Medals	4 (2 gold)
World Championships
Teams	8 – (2001–15)
Medals	9 (4 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	17 – (1999–2015)
Wins	26
Podiums	81
Overall titles	1 – (2013)
Discipline titles	2 – (GS, SG in 2013)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Representing  Slovenia World Cup race podiums Event 1st 2nd 3rd Slalom 4 5 8 Giant slalom 14 8 6 Downhill 4 4 3 Super-G 1 6 10 Combined 3 3 0 Parallel 0 2 0 International competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 2 0 World Championships 4 5 0 Olympic Games Gold 2014 Sochi Downhill Gold 2014 Sochi Giant slalom Silver 2010 Vancouver Super-G Silver 2010 Vancouver Giant slalom World Championships Gold 2011 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Giant slalom Gold 2013 Schladming Super-G Gold 2015 Beaver Creek Downhill Gold 2015 Beaver Creek Combined Silver 2009 Val-d'Isère Giant slalom Silver 2011 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Combined Silver 2013 Schladming Combined Silver 2013 Schladming Giant slalom Silver 2015 Beaver Creek Super-G

Tina Maze is a famous retired Slovenian alpine ski racer. She is known as the most successful Slovenian skier ever. Her amazing career included winning two gold medals at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Tina Maze was named the Slovenian Sportswoman of the Year many times. She won this award in 2005, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015. With four medals, she is also the most decorated Slovenian athlete at the Winter Olympics.

She started her career focusing on giant slalom races. Later, she became skilled in all five alpine skiing events. Tina is one of only seven female skiers to win in all five World Cup disciplines. She is also one of only three to do this in a single season!

Tina Maze won 26 World Cup races during her career. She also won the overall World Cup title in 2013. In that incredible season, she won 11 races. She also set a record for the most World Cup points ever, with 2414 points. This beat the previous record held by Hermann Maier.

Tina Maze's Skiing Journey

Starting Her Career

Tina Maze first competed in the World Cup when she was just 15 years old. This was in January 1999 in Maribor, Slovenia. In her early years, she raced in slalom, giant slalom, and super-G. She earned World Cup points in slalom and giant slalom.

At the 2001 World Championships, her best finish was 16th in slalom. In January 2002, Tina got her first podium finish. She placed second in a giant slalom race in Maribor. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in the United States, she finished 12th in giant slalom.

First World Cup Wins

On October 26, 2002, Tina Maze won her first World Cup race. This happened at the start of the season in Sölden, Austria. She shared the giant slalom win with two other skiers. This was the first time three skiers tied for first place in a World Cup race!

In the 2003 season, Tina finished 38th overall. At the 2003 World Championships, she placed 5th in giant slalom.

The 2004 season saw Tina get one second-place finish in giant slalom. She also started competing in downhill races.

Growing as a Skier (2005-2008)

Maze in December 2006

The 2005 season was very good for Tina. She won three giant slalom races. She also earned two third-place finishes in super-G. She ended the season 10th in the overall standings. At the 2005 World Championships, she was sixth in super-G.

In the 2006 season, Tina won another giant slalom race. She also had two more podium finishes. For the first time, she scored World Cup points in all disciplines. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, she finished 12th in giant slalom.

The 2007 season was a bit tougher for her. She had only three top 10 finishes. At the 2007 World Championships, her best result was 14th in super-G.

In February 2008, Tina Maze won her first downhill race in St. Moritz, Switzerland. This was a historic win for Slovenian female skiers. She finished the 2008 season 28th overall.

Breaking Through (2009-2010)

Maze with her silver medal at the 2010 Olympics

After some less successful seasons, Tina Maze made a big decision. She left the national ski team and started her own team, "Team to aMAZE." Her coach and partner, Andrea Massi, led this team. This change helped her results improve a lot.

In the 2009 Alpine Skiing World Cup, Tina won two giant slalom races. She also had three more podium finishes. At the 2009 World Championships in France, she won a silver medal in giant slalom. This was her first medal in a major competition. She finished the 2009 season sixth overall, her best result yet.

In the 2010 season, Tina won one giant slalom race. She also had two second-place finishes. She ended the season fourth in the overall standings.

Tina was the flag bearer for Slovenia at the opening ceremony in Vancouver, Canada. She won two silver medals at these Olympics. These were in super-G and giant slalom. These were the first silver medals for independent Slovenia at the Winter Olympics!

More Success (2011-2012)

Maze in January 2011

Tina started the 2011 season very strongly. She won her first super combined race in Italy and her first slalom race in Switzerland. She also had six more podium finishes. She ended the 2011 season third in the overall standings.

At the 2011 World Championships in Germany, Tina won a silver medal in super combined. She also won a gold medal in giant slalom.

The 2012 season was interesting because Tina didn't win any races. However, she had ten podium finishes! She ended the season second in the overall standings, right behind Lindsey Vonn.

The Record-Breaking 2013 Season

Tina Maze began the 2013 season with a win in giant slalom in Austria. She then won three more giant slalom races and a super combined race. By New Year's, she had 11 podiums, including five wins. This gave her a huge lead in the overall standings.

She also broke records for most points (2,180) and most podiums (19) in a calendar year. On January 13, 2013, she won her first super-G race. This made her one of the few skiers to win in all five alpine skiing events. On January 26, she won her first World Cup title in giant slalom.

On February 24, she won another super combined race. This meant she had secured the overall World Cup title with nine races still to go! On March 1, she got her 19th podium of the season, breaking the previous women's record. The next day, she won the downhill race. This meant she had won in all disciplines in a single season, a rare achievement.

In this season, Tina also broke Hermann Maier's record for most World Cup points in a single season. She finished with an incredible 2,414 points. She also set records for most podiums in a season (24) and most top 5 finishes (31). She collected more World Cup points than the second and third place skiers combined!

Tina Maze won the overall title, the super-G title, and the giant slalom title. She also finished first in the combined event. She was second in both downhill and slalom.

At the 2013 World Championships in Austria, Tina was a big favorite. She won a gold medal in super-G and two silver medals in super combined and giant slalom.

In October 2013, Tina Maze received the Skieur d'Or Award. This award is given by ski journalists for outstanding performances. She was the first Slovenian skier to ever receive this honor.

The 2014 Season and Olympic Glory

Maze (left) with Dominique Gisin and Lara Gut during the podium ceremony of the 2014 Olympic downhill

The 2014 season started a bit slower for Tina. She had one victory and three other podiums before the Winter Olympics in February. She finished the season 4th overall.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Tina Maze had an amazing performance. She tied for first place in the downhill event with Dominique Gisin of Switzerland. This was Slovenia's first gold medal at any Winter Olympics! It was also the first time a gold medal was shared in an Olympic alpine skiing event.

Tina then won another gold medal in the giant slalom. She also finished fifth in super-G and eighth in slalom. After her Olympic success, she was nominated for the Laureus Award again.

The 2015 Season and Retirement

The 2015 season started strong for Tina. She won three races and had four more podium finishes. She came to the 2015 World Championships in the United States as the overall World Cup leader.

At these championships, she won a silver medal in super-G. Then, she won gold medals in both downhill and super combined. This was her best overall performance at the World Championships.

After the World Championships, Tina was tired. She had a close battle for the overall title with Anna Fenninger. Tina was leading by 18 points before the last race. However, Fenninger won the final giant slalom and took the overall title. Tina finished the season second overall. She also finished third in slalom, super-G, and downhill standings.

Maze in 2017, shortly before her retirement

In May 2015, Tina Maze announced she would take a year off from skiing. She wanted to focus on her studies. On October 20, 2016, she officially announced her retirement from competitive skiing. She skied her last race on January 7, 2017, in Maribor, the same place where she started her World Cup career in 1999.

World Cup Results

Season Titles

Tina Maze won 4 World Cup titles:

• 1 Overall title
• 1 giant slalom title
• 1 super-G title
• 1 super-combined title

Season Standings

Place (points)

Race Victories

Tina Maze won 26 World Cup races:

• 4 Downhill
• 1 Super-G
• 14 Giant Slalom
• 4 Slalom
• 3 Super Combined

She also had 81 podium finishes (top 3):

• 11 Downhill
• 17 Super-G
• 28 Giant Slalom
• 17 Slalom
• 6 Super Combined
• 2 Parallel Slalom

Season	Date	Location	Discipline
2003	26 October 2002	Sölden, Austria	Giant slalom
2005	22 December 2004	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Giant slalom
	8 January 2005	Santa Caterina, Italy	Giant slalom
	22 January 2005	Maribor, Slovenia	Giant slalom
2006	22 October 2005	Sölden, Austria	Giant slalom
2008	2 February 2008	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Downhill
2009	10 January 2009	Maribor, Slovenia	Giant slalom
	14 March 2009	Åre, Sweden	Giant slalom
2010	11 March 2010	Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany	Giant slalom
2011	4 March 2011	Tarvisio, Italy	Super combined
	18 March 2011	Lenzerheide, Switzerland	Slalom
2013	27 October 2012	Sölden, Austria	Giant slalom
	24 November 2012	Aspen, USA	Giant slalom
	7 December 2012	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Super combined
	9 December 2012		Giant slalom
	16 December 2012	Courchevel, France	Giant slalom
	13 January 2013	St. Anton, Austria	Super-G
	27 January 2013	Maribor, Slovenia	Slalom
	24 February 2013	Méribel, France	Super combined
	2 March 2013	Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany	Downhill
	10 March 2013	Ofterschwang, Germany	Slalom
	17 March 2013	Lenzerheide, Switzerland	Giant slalom
2014	25 January 2014	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Downhill
2015	15 November 2014	Levi, Finland	Slalom
	5 December 2014	Lake Louise, Canada	Downhill
	12 December 2014	Åre, Sweden	Giant slalom

Olympic Results

World Championship Results

Personal Life

When she is not competing or training, Tina Maze lives in Črna na Koroškem. She is in a relationship with Andrea Massi, who was also the head of her ski team. In November 2017, they shared that they were expecting a child. Their daughter was born in February 2018.

In 2012, Tina Maze recorded a pop-rock song called My Way Is My Decision.

During her year-long break from skiing, Tina finished her studies. She earned a degree to become an elementary school teacher from the Faculty of Education at the University of Maribor.

Awards and Honors

Tina Maze has received many awards for her incredible skiing career.

• The crystal globes for combined events were not officially given out for the 2013 season. However, athletes still received their medals.

See also

In Spanish: Tina Maze para niños