Janica Kostelić (pronounced [janitsa kostelitɕ]; born 5 January 1982) is a Croatian former alpine ski racer.

On 5 February 2006 Kostelić became the second female skier (after Petra Kronberger) to win all five disciplines in one season.

In the summer of 2006, she decided to not compete in the 2007 season, due to chronic knee and back pain.

Born in Zagreb, Croatia, then part of Yugoslavia, into a winter sports family, Kostelić's father Ante was also her trainer.

She started skiing at the age of three and began training at nine years old, and quickly became successful and won several junior competitions.

The next race was the slalom, in which Kostelić won her second gold medal, narrowly beating Laure Péquegnot.

Her final victory was in the giant slalom, a substantial 1.32 seconds ahead of silver medalist Anja Pärson.

[8][9] In the 2006 season, Kostelić won the World Cup overall title for the third time, but also was in Top 5 in all 4 disciplines, including number 1 in slalom.

As expected, she announced her retirement a year later on 19 April 2007, citing persistent pain from her injuries.

In 2005 she was second overall, just three points behind winner Anja Pärson – the smallest difference between 1st and 2nd place in women's World Cup history.