Post by BL on Feb 18, 2004 22:53:14 GMT
ZAGREB, Croatia -- Croatia's triple Olympic skiing champion Janica Kostelic is to undergo surgery on her right knee next week, a month after a successful operation on her thryoid gland.
Kostelic is to leave for the Austrian town of Schruns on Monday where she will have an arthroscopy on her right knee, the fifth since the end of last season.
The knee problems, which forced Kostelic out for this season, were overshadowed by the diagnosis in November of a serious thyroid gland disorder which also required surgery in a Zagreb hospital.
The double World Cup champion became the first woman to take three alpine skiing gold medals at a single Winter Olympics, winning the slalom, giant slalom and combined events at Salt Lake City in 2002.
Kostelic's older brother and world slalom champion, Ivica, has joined his sister in the recovery room after undergoing surgery on knee ligaments he tore last month in a World Cup slalom in Schladming, Austria.
Kostelic is to leave for the Austrian town of Schruns on Monday where she will have an arthroscopy on her right knee, the fifth since the end of last season.
The knee problems, which forced Kostelic out for this season, were overshadowed by the diagnosis in November of a serious thyroid gland disorder which also required surgery in a Zagreb hospital.
The double World Cup champion became the first woman to take three alpine skiing gold medals at a single Winter Olympics, winning the slalom, giant slalom and combined events at Salt Lake City in 2002.
Kostelic's older brother and world slalom champion, Ivica, has joined his sister in the recovery room after undergoing surgery on knee ligaments he tore last month in a World Cup slalom in Schladming, Austria.