The End of Season

For Croatian Nova TV, the end of Alpine Ski World Cup was the more important news than selection of new Serb prime minister or the upcoming war in Iraq. This finale, however, wasn't as triumphalistic as many had predicted. Janica Kostelić (Janica Kostelic) had already secured World Cup title and Little Crystal Globe as best slalom racer, so she didn't bother with slalom and giant slalom event. Yesterday, during the slalom event, she even allowed herself to fall few meters before finishing line. Today, she was lucky enough to qualify for the second run.

Her brother Ivica, on the other hand, had some chance to end the season with the title of best slalom racer. But he just couldn't keep up with the recent victory streak of Kale Pallander.

Janica's good friend Anja Paerson, on the other hand, was much luckier. She nearly lost her giant slalom title in today's final event. Her first run was atrocious and she had to make a real miracle to get into top five positions – necessary to stave off challenge by Karen Putzer.

It is really sad to see this season coming to an end. That means that there are going to be very few good news for Croatian public in next few months.