Petra Majdič

Petra Majdič
Petra Majdic competing in 2009
Full namePetra Majdič
Born (1979-12-22) 22 December 1979 (age 44)
Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Ski clubŠD Atrans Trojane
World Cup career
Seasons13 – (19992011)
Starts222
Podiums49
Wins24
Overall titles0 – (2nd in 2009)
Discipline titles3 – (3 SP)
Updated on 28 January 2018.

Petra Majdič (born 22 December 1979) is a Slovenian former cross-country skier. Her best results came in classic style races. She won twenty-four World Cup races, twenty in sprint races, but she also won a marathon (30 km race) in Trondheim in 2009. She is the first Slovenian cross-country skier to win a World Cup race, the first to get a medal at the World Championships and the first to get an Olympic medal. With 20 wins, Majdič is the second-most successful sprinter in FIS Cross-Country World Cup history and with 24 wins in total she's the fourth-most successful World Cup competitor of all time.

Career

She first appeared in World Cup on 9 January 1999 in Novo mesto, where she ended 10 km classic as 69th. In 2000, she won her first point in Falun with 30th place in 10 km freestyle. She showed talent for sprint events a year later in Asiago, where she earned her first podium for a 3rd-place finish in 1.5 km freestyle sprint. But real breakthrough came late for Majdič; after achieving two more podium finishes in 2002, she struggled for four years to make a major progress. Cross-country skiing was a marginal sport in Slovenia at that time and she was often frustrated about her training conditions and especially about her skis. As a skier from outside the World Cup elite and from a low-ranked country, she was unable to get the same quality skis as her competitors. The only way forward was even more hard work, as only top results could provide her with a chance to get equal terms with others. Her first victory came at the end of successful 2006 season in 1 km classic sprint of Drammen. First win, 3rd place in 45 km classic marathon of Mora and 9th place overall put Majdič in the spotlight for the first time, after so many years of hard work and little payback. She was recognized as the best female athlete in Slovenia and in the 2007 season she was finally able to compete on top skis and with an excellent support team, including a new coach and ski service team. She won three races and grabbed three more podium finishes to end season as 4th overall, 2nd in sprint and 8th in distance. Additionally, she earned a silver in the individual sprint at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. In the 2008 season, Majdič won her first World Cup title for sprints. In the 2009 season, she profiled herself as a serial winner, winning first four sprints of the season and eight sprints all together, but modified World Cup Finale rules prevented her from winning the World Cup overall. She won her second World Cup title for sprints, however, with a record 879 points and a record 409 points margin ahead of second-placed Arianna Follis.

2010 Winter Olympics

During the warm-up for the 1.4 km classic sprint on 17 February in the 2010 Olympics she skied off-course, down a bank, into a 3 m (10 ft) deep gully where she crashed on rocks breaking both ski poles, a ski tip, and sustained five broken ribs along with a pneumothorax. The start time for her qualifying round was pushed back, but she collapsed in pain after qualifying and was taken to hospital to be x-rayed. The ultrasound failed to show the rib fractures. Thus, she returned to the course and, despite the agonizing pain, won her quarterfinal and just got through the semifinal as a lucky loser. During the semifinal, one of the broken ribs pierced her lung, collapsing it. Despite this and the excruciating pain, she finished third to win the bronze medal in the final, the first individual Winter Olympic medal for Slovenia in 16 years. She earned the highest praise from other skiers, staff and the media for her amazing bravery as she attended the medal giving ceremony with a tube in her chest to relieve pneumothorax. She said at the press conference afterward "Today, this is not a bronze. This is a gold with little diamonds on it".

Petra Majdić with the Terry Fox Award

Two days after the race she was awarded with the Golden Order for Services by the President of Slovenia Danilo Türk. On February 26 it was announced that Petra Majdič and Joannie Rochette are the two Olympians to receive the Terry Fox Award, the purpose of which is to honour an Olympian, who touched the world with courage, humility and extraordinary athletic abilities at the 2010 Games.

After an inspiring Olympic performance, anecdotal factoids had appeared amongst her supporters, all including Majdič herself and Chuck Norris, a typical one being "When Chuck Norris can't go on, Petra Majdič perseveres!".

On 11 January 2011, she was proclaimed the Slovenian Woman of the Year for 2010. The award is conferred each year by the readers of Jana, the oldest women's magazine in Slovenia.

2011 comeback

Due to the extent of her injury, many wrote Majdič off, while some were convinced that she would retire. Her coach Ivan Hudač persuaded her to continue with her career for at least another year and after a successful preparation period she was fit enough to start the 2010–11 season along with other top skiers. It took Majdič only two World Cup races to get back to the podium, she was second in 1.2 km classic sprint of Kuusamo. She was unable to win any races in November and December, but raised her form and won three races in January. She moved on to win a bronze medal in freestyle sprint of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Oslo. She won yet another World Cup sprint in March, her twenty-fourth career win and third in Stockholm. With that win Majdič clinched her third Sprint title.

She retired from competitive skiing on 20 March 2011, wearing the "Goodbye, I love you" sign on her backside. Justyna Kowalczyk also appeared with a "Goodbye Petra" sign on her head during that same race.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

  • 1 medal – (1 bronze)
 Year   Age   10 km   15 km   Pursuit   30 km   Sprint   4 × 5 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
2002 22 6 7 12 9
2006 26 6 11 14 8
2010 30 Bronze

World Championships

  • 2 medals – (1 silver, 1 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km   10 km   15 km   Pursuit   30 km   Sprint   4 × 5 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
1999 19 59 53
2001 21 17 14 32 11
2003 23 7 8 10
2005 25 23 15
2007 27 16 5 Silver 9
2009 29 15 9 12
2011 31 13 Bronze 7 5

World Cup

Season titles

  • 3 titles – (3 sprint)
Season
Discipline
2008 Sprint
2009 Sprint
2011 Sprint

Season standings

 Season   Age  Discipline standings Ski Tour standings
Overall Distance Long Distance Middle Distance Sprint Nordic
Opening
Tour de
Ski
World Cup
Final
1999 19 NC NC
2000 20 69 NC 47 NC
2001 21 34 24
2002 22 14 9
2003 23 14 22
2004 24 24 21 32
2005 25 9 18 11
2006 26 9 10 12
2007 27 4 8 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6
2008 28 5 14 1st place, gold medalist(s) 18 13
2009 29 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 12
2010 30 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2011 31 6 13 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 6 9

Individual podiums

  • 24 victories – (16 WC, 8 SWC)
  • 49 podiums – (32 WC, 17 SWC)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1  2000–01  1 February 2001 Italy Asiago, Italy 1.5 km Sprint F World Cup 3rd
2  2001–02  19 December 2001 Italy Asiago, Italy 1.5 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd
3 5 March 2002 Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 1.5 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd
4  2005–06  5 February 2006 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 10 km Individual C World Cup 3rd
5 4 March 2006 Sweden Mora, Sweden 45 km Mass Start C World Cup 3rd
6 9 March 2006 Norway Drammen, Norway 1.0 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
7 2006–07 25 November 2006 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
8 13 December 2006 Italy Cogne, Italy 10 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
9 3 January 2007 Germany Oberstdorf, Germany 10 km Individual C Stage World Cup 1st
10 14 March 2007 Norway Drammen, Norway 1.0 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd
11 17 March 2007 Norway Oslo, Norway 30 km Individual C World Cup 3rd
12 21 March 2007 Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 1.0 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
13 2007–08 1 December 2007 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
14 23 January 2008 Canada Canmore, Canada 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
15 10 February 2008 Estonia Otepää, Estonia 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
16 27 February 2008 Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 1.0 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd
17 5 March 2008 Norway Drammen, Norway 1.0 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd
18 2008–09 29 November 2008 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
19 14 December 2008 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 1.4 km Sprint F World Cup 1st
20 20 December 2008 Germany Düsseldorf, Germany 0.8 km Sprint F World Cup 1st
21 27 December 2008 Germany Oberhof, Germany 2.8 km Individual F Stage World Cup 3rd
22 29 December 2008 Czech Republic Prague, Czech Republic 1.3 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 3rd
23 1 January 2009 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 1.2 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 2nd
24 3 January 2009 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 10 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 2nd
25 27 December 2008
– 4 January 2009
GermanyCzech RepublicItaly Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 3rd
26 25 January 2009 Estonia Otepää, Estonia 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
27 13 February 2009 Italy Valdidentro, Italy 1.4 km Sprint F World Cup 1st
28 14 February 2009 10 km C World Cup 3rd
29 7 March 2009 Finland Lahti, Finland 1.2 km Sprint F World Cup 1st
30 12 March 2009 Norway Trondheim, Norway 1.4 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
31 14 March 2009 30 km Mass Start C World Cup 1st
32 12 March 2009 Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 1.0 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 1st
33  2009–10  28 November 2009 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd
34 13 December 2009 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 1.0 km Sprint F World Cup 1st
35 19 December 2009 Slovenia Rogla, Slovenia 1.0 km Sprint C World Cup 3rd
36 1 January 2010 Germany Oberhof, Germany 2.8 km Individual F Stage World Cup 1st
37 3 January 2010 1.6 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 1st
38 6 January 2010 Italy CortinaToblach, Italy 16 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 2nd
39 7 January 2010 5 km Individual C Stage World Cup 3rd
40 3 January 2010 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 10 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 1st
41 1–10 January 2010 GermanyCzech RepublicItaly Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 2nd
42 17 January 2010 Estonia Otepää, Estonia 1.2 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 2nd
43  2010–11  26 November 2010 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 1.2 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 2nd
44 27 November 2010 5 km Individual C Stage World Cup 3rd
45 2 January 2011 Germany Oberstdorf, Germany 1.2 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 1st
46 5 January 2011 Italy Toblach, Italy 1.3 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 1st
47 23 January 2011 Estonia Otepää, Estonia 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
48 13 March 2011 Finland Lahti, Finland 1.4 km Sprint C World Cup 3rd
49 16 March 2011 Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 1.0 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 1st

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