Kostelic to sit out 2006-07 season

By Published On: October 7th, 2006Comments Off on Kostelic to sit out 2006-07 season

ZAGREB, Croatia — Janica Kostelic, one of the most successful women in the history of modern alpine skiing, said on Friday she would miss the 2006-07 World Cup season because of persistent pains and injuries.
    Kostelic is the defending women's World Cup overall champion. "My decision is to miss this season, primarily because I have problems with my knees and backache. We shall see what happens later," the Croatian said in a packed press conference, which was broadcast live by state television HRTV.
    "I am not a machine and could not put up with suffering pain all the time," the 24-year-old quadruple Olympic champion also said. "I did try to train once in a while but it was not possible because of the pain. In this condition, it's not fun and I can't race without enjoying it deeply. The last two years have been excellent for the results but tough for my health. My body needs a break."

ZAGREB, Croatia — Janica Kostelic, one of the most successful women in the history of modern alpine skiing, said on Friday she would miss the 2006-07 World Cup season because of persistent pains and injuries.  
    Kostelic is the defending women's World Cup overall champion. "My decision is to miss this season, primarily because I have problems with my knees and backache. We shall see what happens later," the Croatian said in a packed press conference, which was broadcast live by state television HRTV.
    "I am not a machine and could not put up with suffering pain all the time," the 24-year-old quadruple Olympic champion also said. "I did try to train once in a while but it was not possible because of the pain. In this condition, it's not fun and I can't race without enjoying it deeply. The last two years have been excellent for the results but tough for my health. My body needs a break."
    Kostelic has won nine gold medals from World Championships and Olympic Games competition since 2002, despite undergoing knee surgery 10 times. A disfunctional thyroid forced her to take a six-month break three years ago.
    She also has collected three overall World Cup titles, including last season's, when she won nine World Cup events across all five disciplines and amassed a record points total.
    "Never say never, but it's 99 percent sure I won't be skiing this season. I really need a break and want to devote it to normal life," Kostelic said. "But I am sure the season will be interesting, even without me, new skiers are coming."
    Kostelic said she would miss the atmosphere at races and would ski as a forerunner at a World Cup slalom on Jan. 4, the day before her 25th birthday.
    Kostelic's health problems were evident at the Torino Winter Olympics in February. Though she successfully defended her combined title and won a silver medal in the super G, she decided against racing the downhill and giant slalom and failed to get on the podium in the slalom.
    She trained only sporadically during the off-season and focused more on her budding romance with her boyfriend, Boris, who lives in Rijeka. She lived mostly there after buying an apartment. She also plans to open a beauty parlour there.
    The World Cup begins on Oct. 28 in Sölden, Austria. 
    This is the first season since 1999 in which Kostelic will not compete for medals at the World Championships. The 2007 championships are being staged in Are, Sweden, in February.
    Kostelic added that she had kept in touch with fellow competitor and Olympic slalom champion Anja Paerson but was resisting urges from the Swede to make a comeback for the World Championships. "It will be nice to relax a little," she said. "I'll surely miss the entire racing atmosphere, which is quite exciting, but certainly not the strong pains. I plan to keep skiing for fun and be with my teammates or my brother at some occasions."
    Kostelic already missed the 2004 season due to her health problem but she came back in 2005, clinching three gold medals at the Bormio FIS worlds. Last winter, she achieved her great dream to win races in all five disciplines during the same winter. She set a record for women when she captured her third overall title with 1,970 points.
    Her father, Ante, who used to train her since the mid 1990s, now coaches older brother Ivica, the slalom world champion in 2003 and the 2002 slalom World Cup winner.

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