18 FEB 2001 > Women's Slalom
Kostelic Sets Record with Eighth Win
Slalom Results

After crashing in the combined slalom and taking 5th in the slalom at the World Championships in St. Anton, Croatia's Janica Kostelic regained her form here in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, today by winning her eighth consecutive World Cup slalom and setting a new record.

Criticized by the Croatian press after she failed to bring home a medal from the World Championships, Kostelic was reported to have thought of taking a break before the upcoming finals in Are, Sweden.

"Some journalists wrote that I wanted to quit skiing and that I had no more motivation. I wanted to prove the contrary today."

The press had even published an interview with Kostelic's father, Ante, also her trainer, stating that she would simply quit skiing at the end of the year due to the intense pressure from the Croatian media.

Whether it was a rumor or gossip, the young Croatian was here at the start of the eighth World Cup slalom of the season, eager to extend her winning streak. And she did, as simply and easily as always. She captured her 12th success on the World Cup tour since her first victory in combined at St. Anton in January 1999.

Kostelic also increased her lead over Austria's Renate Goetschl in the Overall World Cup standings. Goetschl, a strong 9th in the first leg, made too many mistakes in the second to remain among the leaders. She moved down to 21st place and lost precious points in the standings, which Kostelic now leads by 117 points.

Kostelic, the 19-year-old prodigy from Zagreb has claimed every single World Cup slalom this winter, a feat not repeated since Switzerland's Vreni Schneider in 1989, though there were only seven races that season.

Quite motivated before this race due to the controversy after the World Championships, Kostelic said, "Some journalists wrote that I wanted to quit skiing and that I had no more motivation. I wanted to prove the contrary today. It's a special victory for me today, and it gives me great momentum for the end of the season. I prefer competing on the World Cup tour more than in major events. I skied as usual today, and it was enough for another great win."

Kostelic is enjoying being a contender for the overall title. "It's quite unbelievable in a way. I will train in super G here Monday to prepare for the next speed events at Lenzerheide. The course there is not too dangerous, though I don't plan to compete in the downhill at Are. There is a big jump there and I would rather lose some points than my health. I know now what is really important is life, that's why I'm so relaxed on course. Ski racing is not the most serious thing in life. I must also have fun."

France's Christel Saioni was 2nd by almost a second, while Austria's Karin Koellerer, not among the top 15 after the first leg, stormed back to reach the on the podium for the second time this winter.

World Champion Anja Paerson of Sweden, the fastest in first run by 1/100 of a second over Kostelic, failed to finish the second run. Paerson suffered from a bad flu for several days and she was totally exhausted after her first run.

USA's Sarah Schleper, 14th, almost three seconds behind the winner, was not able to take advantage of her excellent start position in the second run. First on course in the afternoon, Schleper did not achieve her usual strong comeback.

Schleper's teammate Kristina Koznick finished 23rd, quite a disappointment for her after St. Anton. And American Julia Mancuso, scored her first World Cup points by reaching 26th place. Mancuso was the 30th after the first run and last to qualify, pushing Austrian veteran Anita Wachter out of the cut.

Wachter, who has been racing since 1985, was the 1988 Olympic Champion in combined and the 1993 Overall World Cup champion. She announced her decision to quit racing last week, though she may still compete at the finals at Are, since she has qualified in slalom.

The next women's races, a downhill and a super G, are planned this week at Lenzerheide, Switzerland. It has not been confirmed if this weekend's cancelled super G will be rescheduled there.

— Patrick Lang, World Cup Correspondent

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