Ilka Štuhec

Ilka Štuhec (born 26 October 1990) is a Slovenian World Cup alpine ski racer,[1] focusing on the speed events of downhill and super-G. She was a three-time junior world champion in three different disciplines, and was the world champion in downhill in 2017 and 2019.

Ilka Štuhec

Alpine skier
Štuhec at Garmisch in January 2017
Disciplines	Downhill, Super-G, Combined, Giant slalom
Club	ASK Branik Maribor
Born	26 October 1990 Slovenj Gradec, SFR Yugoslavia
World Cup debut	17 March 2007 (age 16)
Website	ilka.si
Olympics
Teams	1 – (2014)
Medals	0
World Championships
Teams	4 – (2013–2019)
Medals	2 (2 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	12 – (2007-2008, 2010, 2012–2017, 2019–2021)
Wins	9 – (5 DH, 3 SG, 1 AC)
Podiums	17 – (9 DH, 5 SG, 3 AC)
Overall titles	0 – (2nd in 2017)
Discipline titles	2 – (DH, AC in 2017)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Representing  Slovenia International alpine ski competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 0 0 World Championships 2 0 0 Total 2 0 0 World Championships 2017 St. Moritz Downhill 2019 Åre Downhill Junior World Championships 2007 Flachau Slalom 2007 Flachau Combined 2008 Formigal Downhill

Career

At the Junior World Championships in 2007, Štuhec won two gold medals (slalom and combined) in Flachau, Austria.[2] The following year she won another gold, in the downhill in Formigal, Spain.[3] She made her World Cup debut at age 16 in March 2007 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

Štuhec gained her first World Cup victories in December 2016, back-to-back wins in the downhill in Canada at Lake Louise.[4] She had consecutive wins two weeks later in Val d'Isère, France,[5] and won her fifth event of the 2017 season in late January in Italy.[6] At the World Championships at St. Moritz, she won the gold medal in downhill in mid-February,[7][8] and clinched the World Cup season title in combined two weeks later.[9] At the finals in mid-March she secured another title in downhill,[10] and was the runner-up for the season in super-G and overall.

In October 2017, an injury to her left knee (ACL) kept Štuhec out of the entire season, including the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.[11] She returned to the winner's circle with World Cup victories on consecutive days at Val Gardena in December 2018,[11] and successfully defended her world championship title in downhill in February 2019.[12][13] Two weeks later, a crash at Crans-Montana injured the same knee (PCL); it was reported that she would recover without surgery.[14]

World Cup results

Season titles

• 2 titles – (1 combined, 1 downhill)

Season	Discipline
2017	Combined
	Downhill

Season standings

Season	Age	Overall	Slalom	Giant slalom	Super-G	Downhill	Combined
2008	17	89	—	—	—	44	26
2012	21	81	—	—	—	27	—
2013	22	59	—	—	36	25	15
2014	23	44	—	47	17	28	—
2015	24	41	—	—	28	22	—
2016	25	33	—	—	12	25	29
2017	26	2	35	34	2	1	1
2019	28	10	—	46	11	4	—
2020	29	32	—	—	28	15	—
2021	30	24	—	—	21	5	—

Standings through 17 January 2021

Race victories

• 9 wins – (5 DH, 3 SG, 1 AC)
• 17 podiums – (9 DH, 5 SG, 3 AC)

Season	Date	Location	Discipline
2017	2 Dec 2016	Lake Louise, Canada	Downhill
	3 Dec 2016		Downhill
	16 Dec 2016	Val d'Isère, France	Combined
	17 Dec 2016		Downhill
	29 Jan 2017	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Super-G
	25 Feb 2017	Crans-Montana, Switzerland	Super-G
	15 Mar 2017	Aspen, United States	Downhill
2019	18 Dec 2018	Val Gardena, Italy	Downhill
	19 Dec 2018		Super-G

World Championship results

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   slalom	Super-G	Downhill	Combined
2013	22	—	32	6	19	DNF2
2015	24	—	25	17	20	7
2017	26	—	DNF2	11	1	DNF2
2019	28	—	—	8	1	10

Olympic results

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   slalom	Super-G	Downhill	Combined
2014	23	—	31	13	10	DNF2

References

1. http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/613.html?sector=AL&competitorid=117509&type=result
2. "Mladinska svetovna slalomska prvakinja še Ilka Štuhec, zlata tudi v kombinaciji" (in Slovenian). sloski.si. 11 March 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
3. "Ilka Štuhec mladinska svetovna prvakinja v smuku" (in Slovenian). Delo. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
4. "Slovenia's Ilka Stuhec completes Lake Louise downhill sweep". 4 December 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
5. "Unstoppable Ilka Stuhec wins third downhill in a row". fis-ski.com. 17 December 2016. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
6. Mitja Lisjak (29 January 2017). "Ilka Štuhec zmagala v Cortini d'Ampezzo!" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
7. M. R. (12 February 2017). "Smukaška kraljica Ilka si je po zlatu dala duška in zakričala" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
8. "Stuhec golden in St. Moritz downhill". fis-ski.com. 12 February 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
9. T. O. (26 February 2017). "Ilka Štuhec zdržala pritisk in osvojila mali globus" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
10. M. L. (15 March 2017). "Video: Zmagovita Ilka najboljša smukačica na svetu!" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
11. "Ilka Stuhec wins downhill for first victory since injury". ESPN. Associated Press. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
12. "Ilka Stuhec successfully defends downhill gold in Åre". FIS-Ski.com. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
13. "Stuhec spoils Vonn's farewell party at skiing worlds". ESPN. Associated Press. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
14. "Downhill world champion Stuhec opts to avoid knee surgery". ESPN. Associated Press. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.

External links

• Ilka Štuhec at the International Ski Federation
• Ilka Štuhec World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation
• Ilka Štuhec at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
• Ilka Štuhec at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• Official website (in Slovene and English)