Christian Balek

Christian Balek
nation	Austria
birthday	November 7th 1974
place of birth	Chur, Switzerland
Career
discipline	Slalom , giant slalom , super-G , combination
society	USC Lilienfeld
status	not active
Medal table
World championships 8 × 2 × 2 × European championships 3 × 0 × 0 × Junior World Championship 4 × 0 × 3 ×
Grass ski world championships bronze Kálnica 1995 Giant slalom gold Müstair 1997 slalom gold Müstair 1997 Giant slalom gold Müstair 1997 combination silver Müstair 1997 Super G gold Gaal 1999 slalom gold Gaal 1999 Giant slalom gold Gaal 1999 combination silver Gaal 1999 Super G gold Castione 2003 Super G gold Castione 2003 combination bronze Castione 2003 slalom  European Grass Ski Championships gold Kálnica 1994 slalom gold Kálnica 1994 combination gold Forni di Sopra 1996 slalom  Grass ski junior world championships gold Kálnica 1992 slalom bronze Kálnica 1992 Giant slalom bronze Kálnica 1992 Super G bronze Kálnica 1992 combination gold Bormio 1993 slalom gold Bormio 1993 Super G gold Bormio 1993 combination
Placements in the World Cup
Overall World Cup 2. ( 2002 )
Placements in the European Cup
All European Cup 1. (1996-1999)

Christian Balek (born November 7, 1974 in Chur , Switzerland ) is a former Austrian grass skier . He was eight times world and three times European champion , won four times the overall European cup and 18 Austrian championship titles .

Career

Balek started out with alpine skiing . At the age of nine he came into contact with grass skiing for the first time at the main ski school in Lilienfeld . After some national successes in the junior sector, Balek was accepted into the Austrian national grass ski team in 1992. In the same year he won the gold medal in slalom and bronze in giant slalom, super-G and combined at the junior world championships . A year later, he even won gold three times in slalom, super-G and combined in Bormio .

In 1994 Balek first took part in a European championship . He was able to decide the slalom and the combination for himself. In the following year he won his first two of a total of 18 Austrian national championship titles and at the 1995 World Cup he was third in the giant slalom. Balek won the next gold medal in the slalom of the European Championships in 1996. This year he also secured the overall ranking in the European Cup for the first time , which he successfully defended in the following three years. At the 1997 World Championships , Balek was the most successful athlete with three gold medals in slalom, giant slalom and combination, and a silver medal in Super-G. In the same year he was honored with the Silver Medal for Services to the Republic of Austria . Two years later he was able to repeat these results exactly at the 1999 World Cup in Gaal .

In the years that followed, Balek was repeatedly set back from injuries. In 2001 he therefore had to take a break for the entire season. In 2002 he won several World Cup races , but due to another injury he came in second overall behind the Czech Jan Němec . At the 2003 World Cup , Balek won the gold medal in the super-G and in the combination, and bronze in the slalom. After another injury, Balek has not participated in any competitions since the 2004 season. In 2004 he received the Gold Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria .

The trained machine tool engineer began building his own grass skis in 1995. Three years later, Balek founded Speedy Jack and began selling his skis. Balek skis are now used by a large number of European grass skiers.

successes

World championships

• Kálnica 1995 : 3rd giant slalom
• Müstair 1997 : 1st slalom, 1st giant slalom, 1st combination, 2nd Super-G
• Gaal 1999 : 1st slalom, 1st giant slalom, 1st combination, 2nd super-G
• Castione della Presolana 2003 : 1st Super-G, 1st combination, 3rd slalom

European championships

• Kálnica 1994 : 1st slalom, 1st combination, 6th Super-G, 7th giant slalom
• Forni di Sopra 1996 : 1st slalom, 4th combination

Junior World Championships

• Kálnica 1992 : 1st slalom, 3rd giant slalom, 3rd Super-G, 3rd combination
• Bormio 1993 : 1st slalom, 1st super-G, 1st combination

World cup

• Grasski World Cup 2002 : 2nd overall

European Cup

• Grasski European Cup 1994 : 4th overall
• Grasski European Cup 1996 : 1st overall
• Grasski European Cup 1997 : 1st overall
• Grasski European Cup 1998 : 1st overall
• Grasski European Cup 1999 : 1st overall

Austrian championships

Balek became 18 times Austrian champion : 6 × slalom, 2 × giant slalom, 4 × super-G, 1 × parallel slalom and 5 × combination

Awards (excerpt)

• 1997: Silver medal for services to the Republic of Austria
• 2004: Gold Medal for Services to the Republic of Austria

literature

• Austrian Ski (ed.): Austrian ski stars of A-Z . Ablinger & Garber, Hall in Tirol 2008, ISBN 978-3-9502285-7-1 , p. 21-22 .