Kristina Koznick is among the select group of U.S. female skiers who have excelled in competition at the international level.

As a talented youngster, she made it to the U.S. Ski Team at the age of 15 and remained on it for 16 years. Over the years in World Cup competition she reached the podium 20 times and earned top 10 results in over one third of the races she competed in. Her consistent success in the technical slalom events opened the door for the outstanding results by the women who were to follow her.

Born in Minnesota, she developed her skills on the runs at the Buck Hill ski are outside of Minneapolis. She was coached by Hall of Famer, Erich Sailer, who has produced many of America’s top skiers. She competed in her first World Cup event in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire in 1991 and won her first World Cup points two years later. Her best seasons would come in 1997-98 and 2001-02, when she earned the Crystal Globes for her overall second place. This is an outstanding accomplishment achieved only by a few select racers.

Her six World Cup wins in the slalom were only surpassed by Tamara McKinney until Mikaela Shiffrin come onto the scene. Still during her career she was the best U.S. slalom skier by winning five national titles. She competed at three Olympic Games and six World Championships.

Ski Racing Magazine picked her as the Top Alpine Ski Racer of the Year in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002. Following her retirement in 2006, she worked as a ski racing commentator for NBC and Universal Sports and now has her own ski guiding business, Performance Studios, working with adults and children to help them fully enjoy their time out on the mountain.

A source of pride for her was her consistency throughout the years. She was the top U.S. female skier in World Cup slalom races from 1995 to 2005 and remained ranked in the top 15 from until 2006.

Career Highlights:

1995-2005: Five national slalom titles plus three second place finishes
1998-2003: Six victories in World Cup slalom races
1997-2005: 10 second place finishes in World Cup slalom races
1998 & 2002: World Cup Crystal Globes earned for finishing second overall
1998-2000 & 2002: Selected U.S. Alpine Ski Racer of the Year