Word: janica
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Dates: during 2002-2002
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...Kostelics make a specialty of firsts. When the Croatian government issued the first postage stamp to honor a sports personality, Janica won the distinction - after becoming women's slalom and overall World Cup champion in 2001. Not to be outdone, elder brother Ivica set out to establish his own first and became the first person to win a World Cup race from the lowly start position of 64th out of the gate. Not bad for a couple of kids from a country with little tradition in skiing. If both perform to their undoubted ability in Salt Lake City they could...
...Janica was first in the family to win World Cup races. As a 17-year-old in 1999 she won her first two, but missed the rest of the season when she tore four ligaments in her right knee in downhill training at St. Moritz. The extra work required to get fit again, including long-distance running, cycling, gymnastics and even free diving, made her stronger and she came back to win eight consecutive World Cup slalom races of the 2000-01 season, as well as a slew of giant slalom and super-Gs. Her dominance in slaloms prompted Sweden...
...pressure of expectation, however, was too much for Janica, who was widely tipped to win gold at the 2001 World Championships in St. Anton. She fell in the slalom leg of the combined and finished fifth in the slalom event. The overwhelming disappointment affected her so badly that her father and coach, Ante, told the Croatian newspaper, Vjesnik, "She's quitting at the end of the season...
...Janica didn't retire but the agony of losing seemed to aggravate the pain from the old knee injuries and she underwent three separate operations through the summer, returning to racing in November and slowly improving her results to a fine third place in slalom at Berchtesgaden in January. Her determination moved Ivica to say, "Janica's a great fighter. I think mentally she is the strongest in the World Cup, not only for the women...