Croatian skier
Janica Kostelic
With a tenacious spirit forged in her war-torn homeland, Janica Kostelic of Croatia became the only Alpine skier ever to win four medals in one Winter Olympics at the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also is Croatia's first Winter Olympic medalist since the country declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. Kostelic, a national hero in a land with little skiing tradition, is widely considered the world's best slalom skier. The "Croatian Sensation," as she's called in the media, is the only woman and one of only three Alpine skiers in history to win three gold medals in one Olympiad. The others are Jean-Claude Killy of France and Toni Sailer of Austria. And by all appearances, Kostelic isn't done yet. "History is not something I think about," she told the New York Times during her recordsetting run in Salt Lake City. "Who has time to think of history right now? I'm too busy skiing."
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: janica@croski.hr.
Sketch by David Wilkins
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