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Janica Kostelic is the latest sport phenomena cruising on the World Cup tour – what a remarkable personality she is as well as an intriguing champion!
Almost everything about her is unique – starting from her talent, her incredible determination, her courage and her staff. Not to mention that she grew up in Zagreb, Croatia, in a country without great alpine traditions – yet over 150’000 people gathered on its main square in February 2002 after she became the first alpine skier to win four Olympic medals at the same Winter Games, three being in gold!
Her Olympic triumph is only the latest on an already long list of impressive achievements since the start of her career and her three victories on the Pinocchio Ski Trophy in the mid 1990’s!

In January 1998, she was only 16 when she competed for the first time in a World Cup race at Cortina d’Ampezzo a month before the Olympics at Nagano. She raced in all events in Japan, finishing a promising 8th in combined.
Eight months later, she already scored her first World Cup points at Soelden and she reached her first podium three weeks later at Park City when she was 3rd in her very first World Cup slalom. She wore bib # 53 that day!
It was the beginning of an astonishing explosion – in January 1999, at 17, Janica won a World Cup combined at St Anton. Her star kept on rising in November 1999 when she won two consecutive slaloms with great margin in France and Italy. Kostelic was leading the Overall World Cup standings in mid December when a dramatic crash in a downhill training run at St Moritz prevented the Croatian to defend her strong chances of becoming one of the youngest ski racers ever to clinch the slalom World Cup title.
She severely damaged most of the ligaments in her right knee in that accident and underwent a dramatic surgery in Basle, Switzerland, where she was transported. For a while, many were afraid that her career was over.
Fortunately, the always relaxed “wondergirl” from Zagreb is both a talented athlete and a fighter. Working hard with excellent re-education specialists in Switzerland, Croatia and France, she was able to find back her form and her momentum at the beginning of the summer.
Her first goal at that point was to slowly recover her level from December 1999 and remain in good health for some time. But Janica Kostelic may well come from another planet – after a smooth start in Soelden, she won her comeback slalom at Park City – the first of an impressive series of eight victories which helped her to conquer the Overall World Cup title during the Finals at Are in March 2001!
Yet her highlight didn’t last long – she underwent three knee surgeries in the off-season and she was not in her best shape when she finally returned on the circuit in December 2001. Another crash in a giant slalom in Val d’Isère and strong pains at her back slowed her down once more and she had to wait the slalom of Berchtesgaden, end of January 2002, to reach her first podium of the winter in a slalom.
She decided afterwards to skip the races at Are and rest in Croatia at the sea-shore. There she could totally focus on the Olympics – since her younger age, her strongest dream was to win an Olympic medal, the first for her country at the Winter Games.
She reached way more! She started with a superb gold in the combined won thanks to an incredible run in the demanding downhill. A few days later, she missed another gold in the Super-G by only 5/100 of a second but she was quite proud about her first podium in a speed event without much training.
In the technical races, she was out of reach for her rivals – especially in the giant slalom which she dominated as she beat by 1,32 seconds Sweden’s Anja Paerson!
Hundredths of thousands of people celebrated her when she returned to Zagreb, waiting on the road going from the Airport to the town and at the Main Square – for sure the biggest party ever given in honour of a ski racer!
Yet she remained motivated for the Finals and she won the last slalom at Flachau despite a tough crash in a Super-G a few days before, while she was once more fighting for a top-3 place in that event.

Janica Kostelic’s achievements are quite remarkable considering the hard moments she went through after she seriously injured herself. She also overcame some difficult moments with her family when she was younger, in a region plagued by civil war and economical difficulties.
Her father Ante, a former international handball player and trainer, liked to ski with his kids on a slope near Zagreb. Janica had fun playing and competing with her older brother, Ivica, and soon she decided to become a ski racer. Her athletic skills and great co-ordination could have led her to pro-tennis or basketball, but she was more attracted by the snow fields.
Janica trained all the time with her family, mostly on the Austrian glaciers. Ante worked hard to find the money to cover the training and transportation expenses, including scuba diving in Dalmatia to catch fish sold to local restaurants. It often happened that they slept in tents or in their car at Hinterdux where they mostly practised in summer.
Their road to the summits was rough and long but it was worth it! In March 2002, they could all enjoy a deserved family triumph in a disco at Flachau after Ivica’s success in the slalom World Cup. Ivica pulled out an amazing demonstration of his skills as a guitar player while Janica showed what a great rock-and-roll dancer she can be! Both are now looking for more success and more fun in future.
At St Moritz, they aim for their first medals at World Championships – Ivica didn’t compete in St Anton where Janica came in 5th in the slalom after crashing in the combined slalom. It’s only the beginning of the Kostelic Ski Show!