Sunday, January 5, 2003
Ivica joins sister Janica with slalom victory
Associated Press
KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia -- This was a day like no other in
skiing for the Kostelic family. Ivica and Janica Kostelic became
the first brother and sister to win World Cup Alpine races on the
same day.
Janica won a slalom Sunday on her 21st birthday in Bormio,
Italy, then watched on TV with her father as her brother captured a
slalom in Slovenia less than an hour later.
"It's a great day for our family,'' Janica said. "It's a
strange record indeed, but I'm pleased with it. What Ivica has done
means a lot because we've spoken for years about winning a race on
the same day.
"And it's great it happened on my birthday. He couldn't have
given me a better present.''
Croatia Prime Minister Ivica Racan sent congratulatory letters
to both, praising their "spirit and motivation.''
Several thousand Croatian fans made the trip to neighboring
Slovenia and Italy. Back home, hundreds of thousands of Croats
watched on TV. In cafes and pubs, teenagers exchanged high-fives.
The Kostelics are icons in Croatia, their rise from poverty an
inspiration in the country of 4.5 million, which is emerging from
the ravages of war after declaring independence from Yugoslavia in
1991.
Last year, the Kostelics won on the same weekend at the World
Cup finals in Flachau, Austria.
Fifteen sets of siblings have won races since the start of the
World Cup almost 40 years ago, but none ever on the same day. The
closest were the Mahre brothers of the United States.
On Feb. 8, 1983, at St. Anton, Austria, Steve Mahre won a slalom
while Phil took the combined, an event computed from performances
in the downhill and the slalom.
Ivica had a total time of 1 minute, 44.71 seconds on a rutted
course to pad his lead in the slalom standings. It was his second
straight victory following a special elimination event in
Sestrieres, Italy, three weeks ago.
"I didn't watch her race because I was preparing for my race,''
he said. "But we had a guy on the team watching the TV and telling
us the times over the radio. When I heard Janica had won by two
seconds I was jumping up and down in joy.''
Austria's Rainer Schoenfelder was runner-up in 1:44.98 and
Olympic slalom champion Jean-Pierre Vidal of France was third in
1:45.03. Tom Rothrock was the fastest U.S. skier, placing 12th.
Americans Bode Miller and Erik Schlopy went out in the opening leg.
In Bormio, Janica finished 2.08 seconds ahead of Austria's
Elisabeth Goergl for her fifth victory this season. It was the
biggest margin of victory in a women's slalom since 1973, when
France's Danielle Debernard won by 2.12 seconds in Japan.
Sweden's Anja Paerson was third and Kristina Koznick was the top
American in 10th.
Kostelic enjoyed a quick celebration after crossing the finish
line as organizers delivered her a birthday cake and a bottle of
sparkling wine.
Then she rushed to the press center, along with her father-coach
Ante, to watch live TV coverage of the second run in Slovenia.
Janica and her father hugged following a victory by 23-year-old
Ivica.
Janica clearly has been the more dominant skier. She is the
overall World Cup leader and in Salt Lake City became the first
Alpine skier to capture four medals in a single Olympics.
On Sunday, she bounced back from a spill a day earlier in a
giant slalom that deprived her of a certain top-three finish. In
the slalom, she finished in 1:36.74 and increased her lead in the
discipline's standings to 530 points, nearly double that of her
closest rival.
"I was a bit tense and less than confident following
yesterday's spill,'' she said. "I skied an almost perfect race,
although perfection does not exist in skiing.''
The next time she and her brother have a chance to win on the
same day is Jan. 19. The men race a slalom in Wengen, Switzerland,
and the women a giant slalom in Cortina, Italy.
