Tomas Kraus Czech alpine skier, specializes in freestyle and ski cross Date of Birth: 03.03.1974 Country: Czech

1. Biography of Tomas Kraus
2. Early Life and Career
3. Transition to Ski-Cross
4. Success in Ski-Cross
5. Personal Life and Hobbies

Biography of Tomas Kraus

Tomas Kraus is a Czech skier specializing in freestyle and ski-cross disciplines. He represented the Czech Olympic team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. While his best result in alpine skiing was 28th place at the 1997 and 2003 World Championships, he achieved great success in freestyle, winning the World Championships twice (in 2005 and 2007) and securing twelve victories in World Cup stages in ski-cross. Kraus also won the World Cup four times and claimed the prestigious Crystal Globe, the main prize of the Alpine Skiing World Cup, in the 2005-2006 season.

Early Life and Career

Tomas Kraus was born on March 3, 1974, in the city of Decin, located on the Czech-German border. He started his competitive skiing career under the auspices of the International Ski Federation (FIS) in 1994 with races in Bormio, Italy. In January 1995, Kraus finished in the top thirty for the first time, placing eleventh on the Kranska Gora slope. In February, he came seventh in the competitions in Annaberg and third in March on the Maribor slope. At the 1997 World Championships, Kraus achieved the 28th place in the overall slalom standings.

Transition to Ski-Cross

In February 1998, Tomas Kraus secured his first victory in the competitions held in Soriska Planina, Slovenia, adding nine more wins to his record until 2002. In 1999, he won the silver medal in slalom at the Winter Universiade. However, he did not achieve significant results at the 1999 World Championships and the 2000 World Cup. The situation remained unchanged until 2003 when Kraus decided to switch disciplines and try ski-cross. He made his debut at a World Cup stage in November 2002 in Savoie, France, winning the race but participating in only two races that season.

Success in Ski-Cross

The 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons proved that ski-cross was the right choice for Kraus. He returned to the top positions in the rankings, and his gold medals at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships served as significant proof of his success. Kraus acknowledges that his sport discipline will never gain the same popularity in the Czech Republic as hockey or football. However, after two excellent seasons, he has a great chance to attract the attention of the Federation and receive sponsor support.

Personal Life and Hobbies

During the offseason, Kraus devotes a lot of time to physical preparation for future snow training. His hobbies are closely related to sports, and in his free time, he enjoys diving, playing tennis and volleyball, and traveling.