Petra Majdič (born 22 December 1979) is a Slovenian former cross-country skier. Her best results came in classic style races. She won twenty-four World Cup races, twenty in sprint races, but she also won a marathon (30 km race) in Trondheim in 2009. She is the first Slovenian cross-country skier to win a World Cup race, the first to get a medal at the World Championships and the first to get an Olympic medal. With 20 wins, Majdič is the second-most successful sprinter in FIS Cross-Country World Cup history and with 24 wins in total she's the fourth-most successful World Cup competitor of all time. Career She first appeared in World Cup on 9 January 1999 in Novo mesto, where she ended 10 km classic as 69th. In 2000, she won her first point in Falun with 30th place in 10 km freestyle. She showed talent for sprint events a year later in Asiago, where she earned her first podium for a 3rd-place finish in 1.5 km freestyle sprint. But real breakthrough came late for Majdič; after achieving two more podium finishes in 2002, she struggled for four years to make a major progress. Cross-country skiing was a marginal sport in Slovenia at that time and she was often frustrated about her training conditions and especially about her skis. As a skier from outside the World Cup elite and from a low-ranked country, she was unable to get the same quality skis as her competitors. The only way forward was even more hard work, as only top results could provide her with a chance to get equal terms with others. Her first victory came at the end of successful 2006 season in 1 km classic sprint of Drammen. First win, 3rd place in 45 km classic marathon of Mora and 9th place overall put Majdič in the spotlight for the first time, after so many years of hard work and little payback. She was recognized as the best female athlete in Slovenia and in the 2007 season she was finally able to compete on top skis and with an excellent support team, including a new coach and ski service team. She won three races and grabbed three more podium finishes to end season as 4th overall, 2nd in sprint and 8th in distance. Additionally, she earned a silver in the individual sprint at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.