Born in Zagreb, Croatia, on January 5, 1982, Janica Kostelić is a four-time Olympic gold medalist. The Croatian is the only woman to win four gold medals in Alpine skiing at the Olympic Winter Games (in 2002 and 2006), and the only woman to win three Alpine skiing gold medals in one Olympics (2002).
Winner of three World Cup Overall titles (2001, 2003, and 2006), three slalom titles, and four combined titles, Kostelić has also won five gold medals at the Alpine Skiing World Championships.
On January 15, 2006, Kostelić became the third woman in the Alpine Ski World Cup history (after Swede Pernilla Wiberg and Austrian Petra Kronberger) to win World Cup races in all of the sport's five disciplines.
In 2003, at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Janica Kostelić won her first two gold medals in the Combined and Slalom. Her brother Ivica also won the gold medal in the Men's Slalom.
Three years later she won three gold medals at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2005 held in Bormio.
Despite being in ill health, she won the Downhill and successfully defended her 2003 titles in Slalom and Combined. On the slopes of Santa Caterina, Kostelic became the first woman in 23 years to sweep three ski titles at a World Championships. She matched the three gold medals achieved by Erika Hess at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships held in Schladming in 1982.
After an incredible 2005-2006 winter season - Kostelić won the World Cup overall title for the third time but also was in the Top 5 in all 4 disciplines, including number 1 in Slalom. She won her first World Cup races in Giant Slalom, Super-G, and Downhill in 2006. At the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, she won a gold medal in the Alpine Combined-, in the summer of 2006, she decided to not compete in the 2006-2007 winter season, due to chronic knee and back pain. She had endured ten knee surgeries and thyroid surgery during her career. Following her season off from competition, Kostelić announced her retirement from racing in April 2007, at just 25 years old.
Olympic Winter Games Starts: 12
Olympic Winter Games Medals: 6
Olympic Winter Games Victories: 4
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Starts: 14
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Podiums: 5
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Victories: 5
FIS World Cup Starts: 194
FIS World Cup Podiums: 55
FIS World Cup Victories: 30
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