Carlo Janka

Carlo Janka
Carlo Janka in November 2017
nation	Switzerland
birthday	15th October 1986 (age 33)
place of birth	Obersaxen , Switzerland
size	186 cm
Weight	89 kg
Career
discipline	Downhill , Super-G , giant slalom , combination
society	SC Obersaxen
status	active
Medal table
Olympic games 1 × 0 × 0 × World championships 1 × 0 × 1 × Junior World Championship 0 × 0 × 1 ×
winter Olympics gold Vancouver 2010 Giant slalom  Alpine World Ski Championships gold Val d'Isère 2009 Giant slalom bronze Val d'Isère 2009 Departure  Alpine Ski Junior World Championships bronze Québec 2006 Giant slalom
Placements in the Alpine Ski World Cup
Individual World Cup debut December 21, 2005  Individual world cup victories 11  Overall World Cup 1st ( 2009/10 )  Downhill World Cup 2. (2009/10)  Super G World Cup 5. ( 2015/16 )  Giant Slalom World Cup 2. (2009/10)  Combination World Cup 1. ( 2008/09 , 2014/15 )
Podium placements 1. 2. 3.  Departure 3 1 7th  Super G 1 2 0  Giant slalom 4th 0 2  combination 3 2 2  Parallel races 0 1 0  team 0 0 1
last change: March 14, 2020

Carlo Janka (born October 15, 1986 in Obersaxen , Graubünden ) is a Swiss ski racer . He is a member of the Swiss national team and competes in the downhill , super-G , giant slalom and combined disciplines . With more than ten race victories in the World Cup , he is one of the most successful athletes today. In 2009 he became world champion in giant slalom, 2010 Olympic champion in the same discipline. He also decided the overall World Cup ranking for the 2009/10 season .

biography

Start of career

In the small community of Obersaxen, the ski club has had its own trainer since the late 1990s, who also had to work unconventionally with Carlo Janka. He got into the Swiss-Ski roster through the racing group and the Surselva regional group of the Bündner Ski Association .

Janka contested his first FIS races in December 2001. However, he only achieved podium positions four years later, albeit in four different disciplines. He achieved his first victory at this level in January 2005. He was used in the European Cup from January 2004. At the Junior World Championships in 2006 on Mont Sainte-Anne in Québec , he won the bronze medal in the giant slalom . In the 2006/07 season he finished fourth in the overall European Cup ranking. A victory in a European Cup race was still missing today; in total, he finished in second place four times.

On December 21, 2005 Janka made her debut in the World Cup , but retired from the giant slalom of Kranjska Gora in the first run. Almost a year later, on December 17th, 2006, he won his first World Cup points by finishing 20th in the giant slalom on the Gran Risa in Alta Badia . In February 2008, a result was among the top ten for the first time. Nevertheless, he caused a surprise when he drove to second place on November 29, 2008 in the downhill from Lake Louise with the high starting number 65 and narrowly missed the victory; it was only his third World Cup race in this discipline.

Two weeks later, on December 13th in Val-d'Isère , with his first World Cup victory in the giant slalom on the demanding Face de Bellevarde slope , he proved that this success was no accident . A month later he won the super combined in Wengen .

Rise to the top of the world

Carlo Janka after his world champion title in giant slalom 2009

Before the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, Janka was one of the most popular favorites, especially since the races took place on the same track as when he won his first World Cup. On February 7th, he won the bronze medal behind John Kucera and Didier Cuche . The highlight of his career so far followed on February 13, winning the giant slalom world championship title, relegating Benjamin Raich and Ted Ligety to their places. One week after the end of the world championship, he secured victory in the combined world cup with a third place in Sestriere .

The preparation for the 2009/10 season did not go according to plan. An unidentified viral illness, which made him very tired, forced Janka to interrupt his fitness training for several weeks. Although the build-up in shape was severely affected by this, he got off to an optimal start to the season. At the beginning of December 2009 he won three times in three different disciplines on the Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek, America, within three days. Before him, only one athlete had succeeded, Jean-Claude Killy in the first World Cup season in 1967. Janka took the lead in the overall standings, but suffered a setback the following week when he was eliminated three times in a row in Val-d'Isère . But he gradually managed to catch up with the leader Benjamin Raich. In mid-January 2010 he won the prestigious Lauberhorn run in Wengen; a race in which even the best racing drivers usually need a lot of experience to get their first victory.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics , Janka was one of the favorites in the Downhill and Super-G disciplines, but couldn't cope with the Whistler route . In the super combination, he narrowly missed a medal in fourth. Finally, on February 23, he won the gold medal in the fourth Olympic race, the giant slalom, ahead of the two Norwegians Kjetil Jansrud and Aksel Lund Svindal . Before the World Cup final in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Janka was still in second place behind Raich in the overall standings, but took the lead with one victory in the downhill and one in the giant slalom. This made him the first Swiss overall World Cup winner since Paul Accola in the 1991/92 season. He is also the first ski racer since Lasse Kjus (1995/96 season) to win the overall World Cup without a win in one of the five disciplines. In 2010 the International Association of Ski Journalists (AIJS) awarded him the Skieur d'Or .

Health problems

Preparations for the 2010/11 season didn't go as planned for Janka either. In December 2010, Swiss-Ski announced that he suffered from cardiac arrhythmias . This restricted his maximum performance and recovery ability, so that he had to take several breaks from racing during the season. For example, he did without the downhill and the super combination at the 2011 World Cup in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Nevertheless, Janka achieved four podium finishes in the World Cup. On February 23, 2011, he underwent an operation that interrupted the excess conduction pathways in the heart caused by the viral disease. Ten days after the surgery, he won the Kranjska Gora giant slalom .

In the 2011/12 season the virus and the problems associated with it disappeared, but Janka was unable to match the performance of the previous winter. This was due to chronic back problems, which severely disabled him and forced him to take several breaks from racing. There were also difficulties in coordinating the materials. In seven races he was among the top 10, the best results were two fourth places in the giant slalom in Sölden and in the Lauberhorn downhill run from Wengen. The 2012/13 season was even worse . Janka never found the shape of earlier years and only occasionally finished in the top 15. He achieved by far the best result in the super combined in Wengen, where he finished third. At the 2013 World Cup in Schladming , he decided not to start the second round of the giant slalom due to weakness. At the beginning of March he broke off the season prematurely. Medical examinations did not yield any new findings, but renewed cardiac arrhythmias could be ruled out.

Janka had meanwhile fallen far behind in the FIS points ranking in all disciplines, especially in his former favorite giant slalom, which is why he had to compete with high starting numbers at the beginning of the 2013/14 season . In view of these circumstances, the sixth place in the giant slalom at Beaver Creek on December 8, 2013, which he achieved with starting number 68 (as the third from last started driver) was therefore surprising. In the further course of the season he achieved another five top 10 placements. His best result at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi was sixth place in the downhill.

Interim return to the top of the world

In the 2014/15 season , Janka was able to improve significantly. On January 16, 2015, he won the Alpine Combined in Wengen . It was his first World Cup victory in almost four years. Only two days later he came third behind Hannes Reichelt and Beat Feuz on the legendary Lauberhorn run at the same location . The 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek , however, were disappointing for Janka: His best result was sixth place in the Alpine Combined. After the world championship, he barely missed the podium in Saalbach in the downhill and super-G with fourth place. He finished the 2014/15 season in tenth place overall and his second discipline win in the Alpine Combined.

In his 50th appearance in a World Cup Super-G on February 7, 2016, Janka won his first victory in this discipline in the competition in Pyeongchang , which was declared an “Olympic dress rehearsal” . During the 2015/16 World Cup season, he was among the top ten in 14 races. In the 2016/17 World Cup that followed, he achieved seven top 10 placings, including a second and a third place. His best result at the 2017 World Championships in St. Moritz was seventh in the combination. During giant slalom training on the Diavolezza in October 2017, a few days before the start of the season, Janka suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in his right knee. It was a so-called internal rupture that does not necessarily have to be treated surgically. For this reason he only took a rehabilitation break of several months. In January 2019 he took part in the training runs for the runs in Wengen, Kitzbühel and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but not in the races themselves. Although there were no countable results, Swiss Olympic nominated him for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. There he went to the combination, which he finished in 15th place.

Janka's achievements in the 2018/19 season . Although he was regularly in the points, he did not get past eleventh place (downhill from Beaver Creek). The 2019 World Championships in Åre were disappointing, with 18th place in the combined and 35th place in the downhill.

successes

Olympic games

• Vancouver 2010 : 1st giant slalom, 4th super combined, 8th super G, 11th downhill
• Sochi 2014 : 6th downhill, 8th super combined, 13th giant slalom, 22nd super G
• Pyeongchang 2018 : 15th Alpine Combination

World championships

• Val-d'Isère 2009 : 1st giant slalom, 3rd downhill, 9th super-G
• Garmisch-Partenkirchen 2011 : 7th Super-G, 7th giant slalom
• Schladming 2013 : 8th Super Combination, 19th Super G, 25th Super G
• Vail / Beaver Creek 2015 : 6th Alpine Combined, 9th Downhill, 12th Super-G
• St. Moritz 2017 : 7th Alpine Combined, 8th Super-G, 22nd giant slalom, 28th descent
• Åre 2019 : 18th Alpine Combination, 35th descent

World Cup ratings

season	total		Departure		Super G		Giant slalom		combination		City event
	space	Points	space	Points	space	Points	space	Points	space	Points	space	Points
2006/07	130.	11	-	-	-	-	40.	11	-	-	-	-
2007/08	64.	109	46.	13	46.	6th	28.	58	31.	32	-	-
2008/09	7th	728	16.	174	16.	74	6th	238	1.	242	-	-
2009/10	1.	1197	2.	448	6th	192	2.	341	2.	216	-	-
2010/11	3.	793	9.	226	6th	205	5.	235	6th	112	9.	15th
2011/12	24.	451	17th	191	28.	59	16.	147	19th	54	-	-
2012/13	48.	157	38.	35	27.	29	48.	7th	4th	86	-	-
2013/14	18th	390	20th	120	14th	125	25th	89	10.	56	-	-
2014/15	10.	643	17th	168	11.	168	12.	167	1.	140	-	-
2015/16	9.	737	9.	312	5.	259	29	76	7th	90	-	-
2016/17	12.	446	7th	240	19th	80	20th	114	30th	12	-	-
2017/18	No results due to injury
2018/19	58.	123	19th	90	41.	18th	-	-	29	15th	-	-
2019/20	28.	277	8th.	259	38.	18th	-	-	-	-	-	-

World Cup victories

• 28 podium places in individual races, of which 11 wins:

date	place	country	discipline
December 13, 2008	Val d'Isère	France	Giant slalom
January 16, 2009	Wengen	Switzerland	Super combination
4th December 2009	Beaver Creek	United States	Super combination
December 5, 2009	Beaver Creek	United States	Departure
December 6, 2009	Beaver Creek	United States	Giant slalom
January 16, 2010	Wengen	Switzerland	Departure
March 10, 2010	Garmisch-Partenkirchen	Germany	Departure
March 12, 2010	Garmisch-Partenkirchen	Germany	Giant slalom
March 5, 2011	Kranjska Gora	Slovenia	Giant slalom
January 16, 2015	Wengen	Switzerland	Super combination
February 7, 2016	Jeongseon	South Korea	Super G

• 1 podium in team competitions

European Cup

• 2005/06 season : 4th combined ranking, 6th giant slalom ranking
• 2006/07 season : 4th overall ranking, 3rd combined ranking
• 5 podium places

Junior World Championships

• Bardonecchia 2005 : 9th descent, 16th Super-G, 22nd slalom
• Québec 2006 : 3rd giant slalom, 7th Super-G

More Achievements

• Military and Police World Cup 2008: 3rd giant slalom
• 2 Swiss junior championship titles (downhill and giant slalom 2005)
• 7 victories in FIS races

Awards

• 2010: Skieur d'Or

Others

Janka was nicknamed "Iceman" because of his coolness and composure during victories as well as his lack of words. His second nickname is "Jänks". Janka is a fan of English football and especially Manchester United . In addition, the RhB ABe 8/12 3503 multiple unit of the Rhaetian Railway is given the name Jankas.

Web links

Commons : Carlo Janka  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Carlo Janka's website
• Carlo Janka in the database of the International Ski Federation (English)
• Carlo Janka in the database of Ski-DB (English)
• Carlo Janka in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Portrait on skiinfo.de (from March 12, 2010)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Pius Berni, trainer in Obersaxen ( Memento from April 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Alpine skiing: Jackpot in the weather lottery. Die Presse , November 30, 2008, accessed March 14, 2010 . 
3. ^ Carlo Janka sensational winner in Val d'Isère. 20 minutes , December 13, 2008, accessed March 14, 2010 . 
4. ↑ Swiss double victory also in the descent. swissinfo.ch , December 6, 2009, accessed March 5, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Carl Schönenberger: Janka is now a giant. Blick , December 7, 2009, accessed March 5, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Remo Geisser: With instinct to the unexpected triumph in Wengen. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , January 17, 2010, accessed on March 14, 2010 . 
7. ^ Remo Geisser: Giant slalom gold to Carlo Janka. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , February 24, 2010, accessed on March 14, 2010 . 
8. ↑ Carlo Janka makes everything clear. derStandard.at , March 12, 2010, accessed on March 14, 2010 . 
9. ↑ Carlo Janka does without World Cup downhill. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , February 10, 2011, accessed on March 5, 2011 . 
10. ↑ Carlo Janka operated on the heart. derStandard.at , February 28, 2011, accessed on March 5, 2011 . 
11. ↑ Sebastian Rieder: Janka's fight on three fronts. Tages-Anzeiger , January 3, 2012, accessed March 18, 2012 . 
12. ↑ Carlo Janka: The worst thing is the uncertainty. skionline.ch, February 16, 2013, archived from the original on November 12, 2013 ; Retrieved March 17, 2013 . 
13. ^ Carlo Janka after medical checks without any new findings. Aargauer Zeitung , March 8, 2013, accessed on March 17, 2013 . 
14. ^ Carlo Janka - Realism despite rank six. skionline.ch, December 9, 2013, archived from the original on December 18, 2013 ; Retrieved December 9, 2013 . 
15. ↑ Carlo Janka wins Super-G - Germans convince. Eurosport , February 7, 2016, accessed February 16, 2016 . 
16. ↑ Janka has not yet buried her Olympic dream despite a torn cruciate ligament. watson , October 24, 2018, accessed March 5, 2019 . 
17. ↑ Janka goes to Pyeongchang. Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen , January 29, 2018, accessed on March 5, 2019 . 
18. ↑ 2010: When Janka became "Iceman". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen , January 10, 2018, accessed on March 5, 2019 . 
19. ↑ Marcel W. Perren: Wayne Rooney to Carlo Janka: "The boss told me that you are an Olympic champion". April 17, 2010, accessed March 5, 2019 . 
20. ↑ Cologna and Janka decorate RhB “ALLEGRA” multiple units. (No longer available online.) Pressestelle.ch, May 1, 2010, archived from the original on May 22, 2010 ; Retrieved September 5, 2010 .