Kjetil Aamodt was only 22 when he achieved an impressive hat-trick in winning the Overall World Cup, beating Marc Girardelli. During the previous two seasons, the skier from Oslo had already won gold at Olympics (SG Val d'Isere 1992) and at FIS World Championships (GS/SL Morioka 1993). A multiple gold medallist at the junior World Championships in 1990 at Zinal, the Norwegian was on his way to be a great champion at the end of the Century inlcuding wins in all alpine events. Yet during the next few seasons, the gifted Kjetil, initially coached by his father Finn, was plagued by injuries and lack of motivation. He only won two more World Cup races in the following five winters along with two combined titles at the FIS World Championships at Sestriere (1987) and Vail (1999).
In Colorado, Aamodt got back on track by winning his 5th gold medal - making it a total of 13 medals since 1991. Only his teammate Lasse Kjus did as well as him in the last decade.
Kjetil's consistency in all specialties helped him to remain a top contender in the Overall World Cup. In 1997 and 1999 he only lost the Crystal globe in the very last events against France's Luc Alphand and his friend Lasse Kjus. During the 1998/99 season, he accumulated an impressive series of top-5 places in all events, yet he could only clinch one World Cup event, the combined at Kitzbuhel. Aamodt has moved to Monte Carlo where he now trains with Hans Peter Buraas and Pernilla Wiberg. His main goal is to regain the Overall World Cup trophy.