Petra Kurková

Petra Kurková
Personal information
NationalityCzech
Born (1973-08-02) 2 August 1973 (age 51)
Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Years active1999 – 2007
Sport
Country Czech Republic
Sportalpine skiing
Medal record
Women's Alpine skiing
Representing  Czech Republic
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Deaflympics 8 2 2
Winter Deaflympics
Gold medal – first place Davos 1999 Downhill
Gold medal – first place Davos 1999 Giant slalom
Gold medal – first place Davos 1999 Slalom
Gold medal – first place Davos 1999 Super-G
Gold medal – first place Sundsvall 2003 Parallel slalom
Gold medal – first place Sundsvall 2003 Slalom
Gold medal – first place Salt Lake 2007 Alpine combined
Gold medal – first place Salt Lake 2007 Slalom
Silver medal – second place Sundsvall 2003 Downhill
Silver medal – second place Salt Lake 2007 Super-G
Bronze medal – third place Sundsvall 2003 Giant slalom
Bronze medal – third place Salt Lake 2007 Downhill

Petra Kurková (born 2 August 1973) is a former Czech female deaf alpine skier.[1][2][3] She represented Czech Republic at the Deaflympics in 1999, 2003 and 2007 claiming 12 medals in her Deaflympic career including 8 gold medals.[4] Petra Kurkova also received a scholarship of Fulbright-Masaryk Fellowship to study at the Valdosta State University after claiming four gold medals at the 1999 Winter Deaflympics.[5] She was once considered as one of the leading deaf female skiers in the world after recording a medal tally of 12 during her Deaflympic career which spanned from 1999 to 2007.[6][7]

Career

Petra made her Deaflympic debut during the 1999 Winter Deaflympics and set milestones after claiming four gold medals in the women's downhill,[8] giant slalom,[9] slalom[10] and Super-G events.[11] With clinching four gold medals at the Davos Deaflympics, she became the first individual athlete either male or female to claim four gold medals in a single edition of the Winter Deaflympics.

Petra Kurkova also bettered the gold medal achievements when compared to male counterparts mainly in the slalom and giant slalom events during the 1999 Winter Deaflympics. After her achievements at her first Deaflympic event, she was awarded the ICSD Deaf Sportswoman of the Year award in 1999.[12]

She also continued her medal hunt at the 2003 Winter Deaflympics as she claimed gold medals in the women's parallel slalom and slalom events, silver medal in the downhill category and a bronze medal in the women's giant slalom event. Petra was also nominated for the ICSD Deaf Sportswoman of the Year award in 2000 and 2003.

References

  1. ^ "KURKOVA Petra - Biographie". data.fis-ski.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Petra Kurkova | Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Petra KURKOVA - Player Profile - ". Eurosport UK. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Petra Kurková, Ph.D." (PDF). sportsbiz.bz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015.
  5. ^ "News | Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  6. ^ www.mccanndigital.cz. "Disabled athletes". www.czech.cz. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Deaflympics 2017 Samsun". deaflympics2017.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Women's downhill | 1999 Winter Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Giant slalom | 1999 Winter Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Women's Slalom | 1999 Winter Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Women's Super-G | 1999 Winter Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  12. ^ "1999 ICSD Deaf Sportswoman of the Year | Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018.