written by: Vitomir Spasović, illustrated by: Matija Dražović
The publishing of these picture books was enabled by the Croatian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee.
ISBN 978–953–7981–03–7, picture book 7
ISBN 978–953–7981–02–0, picture book series
Publisher: POKRET – aktivan i zdrav
Graphic design: Boris Barna
www.malisportasi.net
Proofreading: Jana Sumrak
Editor: Vitomir Spasović
Translated by: Andrea Bagović
Written by: Vitomir Spasović
Print: Printera
Illustrated by: Matija Dražović
Zagreb, 2014.
written by: Vitomir Spasović, illustrated by: Matija Dražović
olympic stories
Playing like that, Ante sometimes got badly hurt. He would then go to a hospital and have a piece of plaster
(gips) put around his arm or
However, the reasons why Ante
leg, in order for the broken
was not recognized among the
bone to heal better. As this
best handball players of his
used to happen quite often,
country were unclear. This made
his friends nicknamed him
him sad. Since handball is a
Gips.
sport in which one depends a lot upon the teammates, coach and referees, Gips decided that
his children would practice a sport that would allow them to succeed, while depending exclusively on themselves.
And it was so. As soon as his little children, Ivica and Janica, grew big enough, they started practicing skiing, with Daddy Ante as their coach. Skiing was the other Ante’s great love among sports. But there was a problem. There was not always enough snow, either in Zagreb or on Sljeme. Besides, the existing ski trails were teeming with skiers, sledders, hikers and various revelers that milled about like ants. There was no chance to achieve great results in skiing there.
As they did not have enough money for fuel and other necessities, they would often sell the skis that they won as awards at different competitions. There was no money for hotels either, and what money they collected, they spent on tickets for ski trails.
They slept in small tents, near the ski trails, at mountaintops. They washed their faces in melted snow and they ate the homemade food that Mom Marica had prepared for the journey: sausages, bacon, beans, sarma, garlic, etc.
They did not have all the necessary equipment, and they trained with torn mittens, but they did not mind. Indeed, it seemed that they were becoming better and better exactly because of all that. Dad Ante was raising them as if all this was just plain play and fun, so that Janica and Ivica went with the flow and enjoyed themselves. Few skiers believed in their success. Many stared at them in wonder, thinking they were insane.
Then it was time for the first real, serious skiing competitions. Janica was invincible among juniors and all that effort started paying back. One victory followed another. When she was only sixteen, she participated in the Olympics Games in Nagano, Japan, for the first time, and she won the eighth place. Janica was nicknamed Snow Queen because of the ease with which she continued to win.
Daddy Ante was full of ideas, choosing the exercises that would prepare Janica and Ivica for future ski competitions. They had only ten months to get ready. They ran through the woods, over the island hill, on sharp rocks near the sea; they walked on their arms, swam, dove, rode bicycles on narrow paths, balanced on logs, and did many other strange exercises.
It looked like they were preparing for an acrobatic
performance in a circus, not for skiing at the World Cup.
A special exercise consisted in diving from a twenty-metre high cliff into the sea. Daddy
Ante claimed that this exercise was just the right thing to calm the fears that Janica had after her fall on the ski trail. This was the first time that he was wrong.
She was in fact not afraid at all. Diving from rocks inspired Janica’s dreams and reinforced her desire to get on top of the world.
Ten months went by quickly. Janica was on skis again. And the first races began. The beginning was good; she had one victory after another. She would fearlessly speed down steep slopes, the golden tips of her braids flying from under her skiing helmet. People incredulously watched the ease with which she would pass between the poles, balancing on the edges of her skis. This was Snow Queen’s big comeback. Other skiers, her greatest opponents, would also applaud her after she won as though they were just beginners. They would powerlessly say that this was just a game for her.
The next day, the next race and the next Olympic medal for Janica. As one race followed another, so did the medals. At the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Janica climbed on top of the world by winning three golden medals and a silver one. And she will be remembered forever as the real Snow Queen.
Janica Kostelić 5 January 1982
Janica Kostelić was born on 5 Janu-
continuation of her skiing career
ary 1982 in Zagreb, to a family of
was uncertain. However, she came
athletes. She was only three years
back to competitions in the sea-
old when she received her first pair
son of 2000/2001, and, rivaling
of skis, but she was already show-
Renata Götschl, she won the Great
ing an innate courage and perseverance. This
Crystal Globe as the total winner of the World
was confirmed during her first children competi-
Cup. She also won the Great Crystal Globe in 2003
tions, where she won almost all the prizes. She
and 2006, along with seven more small Globes.
was crowned by victories at two most significant competitions for the young – the Topolino and the
At the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City in 2002, she
Pinocchio.
won the first medal for Croatia. Her final score was four medals: three gold ones (slalom, giant
Janica and her older brother Ivica were coached in
slalom and combi) and one silver medal (super-G).
skiing by their father Ante Kostelić from the very
At the Olympic Games in Torino in 2006, she won
beginning. In 1997, Janica already won at the Gar-
two more medals: the gold one for the combi, and
litzen FIS competition in super-G, with the starting
the silver one for the super-G. With the Olympic
number 83! She had her Olympic Games debut at
total of four gold and two silver medals, she is the
the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano. Aged
best Olympic alpine skier of all time.
16, she was the youngest alpine skier there. She was the world champion five times: in St. In 1999, training in St. Moritz, she fell at the speed
Moritz in 2003 (slalom, combi) and in Bormi in 2006
of 123 km/h and severely hurt her right knee. The
(slalom, downhill, combi).
Read the other picture books in the series Olympic Stories...