Colorado University Athletics
Lucie Zikova helped the Colorado ski team to the 2006 NCAA Championship.
CU Athletic Hall of Fame Profile: Lucie Zikova
November 07, 2018 | General, Skiing
It's Hall of Fame Week for Colorado Athletics! The 11-member Class of 2018 will be inducted on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Boedecker Gym in the CU Events Center, and will be recognized at Saturday's football game against Washington State at 1:30 p.m. Our fifth CU Athletic Hall of Fame Profile is Lucie Zikova, three-time national champion seven-time All-American alpine skier.
Impressive athletes at the University of Colorado are not a rarity, however there come times when superb students cross our paths. All-American skier Lucie Zikova is one of those people.
Growing up in Prague, Czech Republic, Zikova recalls being on skis, "as soon as I could walk and every winter (all winter long) ever since." Her dad got her into skiing and, although neither of her parents were racers, her family "always spent a lot of time in the mountains."
Zikova skied for Ski Club Spindle from 1992-2002 and Czech Republic Junior National Team from 1999-2002. She won the slalom, GS and Super-G in the Czech Republic Junior National Championships in 2003.
This time, clearly well spent on the mountain, trained Zikova to be a seven-time First Team All-American at Colorado in both the Slalom (four times) and Giant Slalom (three).
Her career at CU began in 2005, where she placed in the top five in eight out of nine races. This translated to her All-American honors after skiing a combined time of 1:26.94 in the Slalom at the NCAA Championships.
In 2006, her successes continued when she set a school record by winning six races, including her first of three NCAA individual alpine titles. She was named the CU Female Athlete of the Year and the top seed in both the GS and the Slalom at the NCAA meet.
Her junior season in 2007 was equally impressive with second and fourth place finishes in the Slalom and GS respectively. Her world ranking jumped to 54th in the Slalom at the end of the season, a feat unmatched by any CU skier.
Zikova closed out her illustrious career by winning the NCAA Slalom and GS championships as a senior in 2008. With 16 wins, 11 runner-up finishes and seven third place efforts, her 34 podium finishes are tied for the most by a female and tied for the second-most overall in CU skiing history. Zikova was the winner of CU's 2008 Female Career Athletic Achievement Award.
Even with these astounding accomplishments under her belt, she considers the highlight of her career to be winning her first national title in 2006 and helping the team win the NCAA championship that year, the school's first since 1998.
"That thrilling night run in Steamboat Springs and the huge wave of happiness and pride I felt when the final result flashed on the scoreboard," Zikova said. "That was one of the happiest moments of my skiing career."
While at CU, Zikova studied finance and was a member of the 2007 NCAA Skiing All-Academic Team. Although successful in this endeavor, she found it challenging, "to pack up my things and go off to college to the other side of the world just so I could continue skiing and also get great education.
"I love my family back in Prague, so leaving them was difficult, but the whole experience of being a collegiate athlete in the U.S., while challenging, shaped my life."
On a personal note, Zikova married CU ski teammate Miles Cooke and the couple had their first child (Anna Rose) in September 2017.
"I love being a mom," Zikova said. "It's fair to say, I've never done anything more challenging. But now she's here and we adore her."
When asked about Anna's potential future as a skier, Zikova stated, "I am excited for Anna to try skiing! Both my husband and I love the mountains and love skiing, so putting Anna on skis will be a lot of fun. That said, we're not set on her being a ski racer."
Perhaps Zikova will take her daughter to her favorite racing spots one day: Steamboat Springs in the U.S. and anywhere in Dolomites in Europe."
"It is not an overstatement to say that having the opportunity to come to CU changed my life," Zikova said.
Her impressive skiing history incredible strength makes her beyond worthy of a spot in the CU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Impressive athletes at the University of Colorado are not a rarity, however there come times when superb students cross our paths. All-American skier Lucie Zikova is one of those people.
Growing up in Prague, Czech Republic, Zikova recalls being on skis, "as soon as I could walk and every winter (all winter long) ever since." Her dad got her into skiing and, although neither of her parents were racers, her family "always spent a lot of time in the mountains."
Zikova skied for Ski Club Spindle from 1992-2002 and Czech Republic Junior National Team from 1999-2002. She won the slalom, GS and Super-G in the Czech Republic Junior National Championships in 2003.
This time, clearly well spent on the mountain, trained Zikova to be a seven-time First Team All-American at Colorado in both the Slalom (four times) and Giant Slalom (three).
Her career at CU began in 2005, where she placed in the top five in eight out of nine races. This translated to her All-American honors after skiing a combined time of 1:26.94 in the Slalom at the NCAA Championships.
In 2006, her successes continued when she set a school record by winning six races, including her first of three NCAA individual alpine titles. She was named the CU Female Athlete of the Year and the top seed in both the GS and the Slalom at the NCAA meet.
Her junior season in 2007 was equally impressive with second and fourth place finishes in the Slalom and GS respectively. Her world ranking jumped to 54th in the Slalom at the end of the season, a feat unmatched by any CU skier.
Zikova closed out her illustrious career by winning the NCAA Slalom and GS championships as a senior in 2008. With 16 wins, 11 runner-up finishes and seven third place efforts, her 34 podium finishes are tied for the most by a female and tied for the second-most overall in CU skiing history. Zikova was the winner of CU's 2008 Female Career Athletic Achievement Award.
Even with these astounding accomplishments under her belt, she considers the highlight of her career to be winning her first national title in 2006 and helping the team win the NCAA championship that year, the school's first since 1998.
"That thrilling night run in Steamboat Springs and the huge wave of happiness and pride I felt when the final result flashed on the scoreboard," Zikova said. "That was one of the happiest moments of my skiing career."
While at CU, Zikova studied finance and was a member of the 2007 NCAA Skiing All-Academic Team. Although successful in this endeavor, she found it challenging, "to pack up my things and go off to college to the other side of the world just so I could continue skiing and also get great education.
"I love my family back in Prague, so leaving them was difficult, but the whole experience of being a collegiate athlete in the U.S., while challenging, shaped my life."
On a personal note, Zikova married CU ski teammate Miles Cooke and the couple had their first child (Anna Rose) in September 2017.
"I love being a mom," Zikova said. "It's fair to say, I've never done anything more challenging. But now she's here and we adore her."
When asked about Anna's potential future as a skier, Zikova stated, "I am excited for Anna to try skiing! Both my husband and I love the mountains and love skiing, so putting Anna on skis will be a lot of fun. That said, we're not set on her being a ski racer."
Perhaps Zikova will take her daughter to her favorite racing spots one day: Steamboat Springs in the U.S. and anywhere in Dolomites in Europe."
"It is not an overstatement to say that having the opportunity to come to CU changed my life," Zikova said.
Her impressive skiing history incredible strength makes her beyond worthy of a spot in the CU Athletic Hall of Fame.
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