Ever see a running back lose his helmet and finish the play anyway…this is the skiing version of that…
Ski racing is a pretty darn exciting sport, but every once in a while, something happens in a competition that’s uniquely exhilarating. Sure, there are crashes, but those happen in nearly every race, there are wild comebacks, but those aren’t really all that rare, and there are record breaking races, but, with Shiffrin on the courses, those seem to be happening weekly. I’m talking about those really unique situations, where someone pushes through a serious set back to finish the race, like when Janica Kostelić came in third with no pole in her right hand.
Way back on January 5th, 2006, the Croatian ski racer was competing at the World Cup slalom race in her home country when, before even reaching the first gate on her second run, she managed to lose both her right pole and her right glove. For most people, that would probably mean giving up on the race and taking a DNF. While those gates do bend, they aren’t soft. There’s a very real reason as to why slalom racers users pole guards, shin guards, and chin guards. Kostelić, however, isn’t most people, and she finished her second run with a time that briefly placed her in first place, according to CNN.
“My first thought was to quit the race because it was hurting so much. Then I thought ‘there’s no way I can do that because people have come to see me here and the workers have been working day and night to prepare the course’.” – Janica Kostelić
By the end of the competition, Kostelić remained on the podium in third, preventing a complete Austrian sweep. Her hand was definitely injured, and it was thought that she had probably torn a ligament. Oh, yeah, and this all happened on her 24th birthday.
Image Credit: Hrvatska radiotelevizija via YouTube