Kristina Lyn Koznick (born November 24, 1975) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. She raced in the technical events and specialized in slalom.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 24, 1975 Apple Valley, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupation | Alpine skier |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Skiing career | |
| Disciplines | Slalom, giant slalom |
| Club | Buck Hill Ski Racing |
| World Cup debut | January 24, 1993 (age 17) |
| Retired | July 2006 (age 30)[1] |
| Website | koznick.com |
| Olympics | |
| Teams | 3 - (1998, 2002, 2006) |
| Medals | 0 |
| World Championships | |
| Teams | 6 - (1996–2005) |
| Medals | 0 |
| World Cup | |
| Seasons | 12 - (1995–2006) |
| Wins | 6 - (6 SL) |
| Podiums | 20 - (20 SL) |
| Overall titles | 0 - (8th in 2002) |
| Discipline titles | 0 - (2nd in SL, 1998, 2002) |
Racing career
editBorn in Apple Valley, Minnesota, Koznick learned to ski and race at the modest Buck Hill ski area in her hometown of Burnsville, a suburb south of Minneapolis.
Koznick has six World Cup victories, 20 podiums (all in slalom), and 55 top ten finishes (4 in giant slalom, 51 in slalom). She was the runner-up in the slalom season standings twice (1998, 2002), and her best overall World Cup placing was 8th in the 2002 season.[2]
Koznick competed in three Winter Olympics (1998–2006)[1] Her last World Cup race was in February 2006, prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, her last international event.
Following the 2000 World Cup season, a 24-year-old Koznick left the U.S. Ski Team and raced for the United States as an independent for the next six seasons, until her retirement.[3] This set a precedent, as Bode Miller would later follow in her footsteps as an independent for two seasons in 2008 and 2009. In 2015, she was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
After racing
editAfter retiring from international competition in July 2006,[1] Koznick started her ski business in Vail and became a broadcaster for NBC Sports. She made her debut that December, handling post-race interviews for alpine skiing events.[4] Her most recent appearance on the network was in December 2008, covering the men's World Cup races in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Kozlack is also a certified massage therapist, focused on neuromuscular programming.[5]
Media
editKristina Kozlack is present in photoshoots for Vail resorts and other freelance photographers. She can be seen in some Volkl Ski and Marker helmet advertisements. Koznac once starred in a spotlight article for the Vail Luxury magazine.
Koznick now has a family and plays for the Vail Breakaways, a women's hockey team in Vail, Colorado.
World Cup results
editRace victories
edit- 6 wins (6 SL)
- 20 podiums (20 SL)
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 29 Jan 1998 | Åre, Sweden | Slalom |
| 1999 | 28 Dec 1998 | Semmering, Austria | Slalom |
| 2000 | 10 Mar 2000 | Sestriere, Italy | Slalom |
| 19 Mar 2000 | Bormio, Italy | Slalom | |
| 2002 | 20 Jan 2002 | Berchtesgaden, Germany | Slalom |
| 2003 | 15 Mar 2003 | Lillehammer, Norway | Slalom |
Season standings
edit| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 17 | 87 | 41 | — | — | — | — |
| 1994 | 18 | ||||||
| 1995 | 19 | 75 | 26 | — | — | — | — |
| 1996 | 20 | 80 | 40 | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | 21 | 80 | 35 | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | 22 | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 1999 | 23 | 36 | 6 | — | — | — | — |
| 2000 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 29 | — | — | — |
| 2001 | 25 | 7 | 7 | 26 | — | — | — |
| 2002 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 22 | — | — | — |
| 2003 | 27 | 27 | 11 | 30 | — | — | — |
| 2004 | 28 | 21 | 8 | 27 | — | — | — |
| 2005 | 29 | 15 | 4 | 23 | — | — | — |
| 2006 | 30 | 31 | 13 | 28 | — | — | — |
References
edit- ^ a b c "U.S. skier Koznick retires after three Olympics". ESPN. Associated Press. July 12, 2006. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
- ^ "PLUS: Skiing; Miller finishes fourth overall". New York Times. March 11, 2002.
- ^ Svrluga, Barry (December 12, 2005). "'Team Koz': For Self and for Country". Washington Post.
- ^ "Koz and Jonna Mendes, working for NBC". Ski Racing.com. December 3, 2006.
- ^ "Kristina Koznick Bio". www.koznick.com. SKIKZ PERFORMANCE STUDIOS. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
External links
edit- Kristina Koznick at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
- Kristina Koznick World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation
- Kristina Koznick at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
- Kristina Koznick at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Official website
- Koznick announces retirement - 12 July 2006 at SkiNet.com