Tomáš Kraus (born 3 March 1974, in

Děčín Děčín (; german: Tetschen, 1942–1945: ''Tetschen–Bodenbach'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It is the 7th largest municipality in the country by area. Administrative parts D ...

) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

sportsman who has specialized in both

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

and

freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...

. His best results as an alpine skier was two 28th places at the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

and 2003 World Championships, but as a freestyle skier he is a double world champion and has 15 victories in World Cup races in the

skicross Ski cross is a skiing competition which incorporates terrain features traditionally found in freestyle skiing with courses which include big-air jumps and high-banked turns. In spite of the fact that it is a timed racing event, it is often cons ...

discipline.

Freestyle skiing

Before retiring as an alpine skier, Kraus had already taken up

ski cross Ski cross is a skiing competition which incorporates terrain features traditionally found in freestyle skiing with courses which include big-air jumps and high-banked turns. In spite of the fact that it is a timed racing event, it is often cons ...

. He made his World Cup debut in November 2002 in

Tignes Tignes () is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, known for the highest skiable area and the longest ski season in Europe. It is located in the Savoie region with good tr ...

, and won that race, but only competed in two more races that season. He opened the 2003–04 season with an eighth place in

Saas-Fee Saas-Fee () is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The village is situated on a high mountain plateau at 1,800 meters (5,900 feet), surrounded ...

, and recorded a fourth place from

Pozza di Fassa Pozza di Fassa (Ladin: ''Poza (de Fascia)'', german: Potzach im Fasstal) is a ''frazione'' of Sèn Jan di Fassa in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northeast of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, i ...

in January as his best result. In the 2004–05 season he competed in six World Cup races, winning three of them; in

Les Contamines Les Contamines-Montjoie () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Etymology The original name of the village, ''Les Contamines,'' is from the word ''contamines'', which in the an ...

, Pozza di Fassa and

Kreischberg Kreischberg is an Austrian ski resort in Styria, Austria. The area includes the adjacent Rosenkranzhöhe and offers 40 kilometres of slopes altogether. In December 2013, Kreischberg was considered the first 10-seater gondola in Styria. In recent ye ...

. At the end of the season he won the gold medal at the 2005 World Championships in

Ruka Ruka may refer to: ;People: *, Japanese actress *, Japanese football player *, Japanese snowboarder *, Japanese professional footballer ;Other: * Ruka (Okage), a fictional character * Rukatunturi (Finnish: Ruka), a ski resort in Finland * Ruka So ...

. (freestyle skiing). Retrieved on 1 February 2009. Kraus opened the 2005–06 season with a victory in Les Contamines, and followed up with victories in Kreischberg and

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. His worst result that season was a fourth place. He continued his form in the 2006–07 season. Albeit only competing three times, with two second places and one third place, he won another gold medal at the 2007 World Championships in

Madonna di Campiglio Madonna di Campiglio (german: Sankt Maria im Pein) is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Pinzolo. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an elevation of above sea level, and has approximatel ...

. In 2007–08 he won four out of his first five races, his worst result being a fifth place. In 2008–09 he opened with two fifth places, but then won the race in

Flaine Flaine is a ski area in the Haute Savoie region of the French Alps, and is a part of the linked Grand Massif domain. It is in the territory of the communes of Magland and Arâches-la-Frasse. Flaine is linked to Samoëns, Morillon, Les Carroz a ...

in January. Kraus represents the sports club

USK Praha USK Praha, ( cs, Univerzitní Sportovní Klub Praha, University Sports Club Prague), formerly known as Slavia VŠ Praha ( cs, Slavia Vysoké Školy Praha), is a Czech professional basketball club that was founded in 1953 in the city of Prague. ...

. He has used

Fischer Fischer is a German occupational surname, meaning fisherman. The name Fischer is the fourth most common German surname. The English version is Fisher. People with the surname A * Abraham Fischer (1850–1913) South African public official * Ad ...

skis during his freestyle career, and

Dynastar Skis Rossignol S.A., or simply Rossignol, is a French manufacturer of alpine, snowboard, and Nordic equipment, as well as related outerwear and accessories, located in Isère, France. Rossignol was one of the first companies to produce plastic s ...

during his alpine career. (alpine skiing). Retrieved on 1 February 2009.

References

1974 births Living people Czech male alpine skiers Czech male freestyle skiers Freestyle skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic freestyle skiers for the Czech Republic Universiade medalists in alpine skiing People from Děčín Universiade silver medalists for the Czech Republic Competitors at the 1999 Winter Universiade Sportspeople from the Ústí nad Labem Region {{CzechRepublic-freestyle-skiing-bio-stub