Bad Year for Kostelićs (Kostelics)

Making career in sports is much riskier than most people think. At least this is impression you might get from Kostelićs (Kostelics) – Croatia's most successful sports clan. It doesn't take much even for the toughest athletes to be put out of action. Janica, who had successfully battled numerous injuries, had to sacrifice this season because of thyroid gland surgery. Ivica crashed yesterday.

That would mean at least a year without any chance for Croatians to expect medals from the ski slopes. Janica's team mates Ana Jelušić (Ana Jelusic) and Nika Fleiss are improving and might have really great future in front of them, but those triumphs would come too late for the spoiled Croatian ski fans who, with Kostelićs out of picture, might forget that this exotic sport even exists.