LIVIGNO, Italy — Ester Ledecka’s ambition to be the first snowboarder to secure gold medals in three consecutive Olympics came to an unexpected halt on Sunday.
She fell short in her quarterfinal of the parallel giant slalom, losing narrowly by 0.06 seconds to Austria’s Sabine Payer.
The gold medal instead went to another Czech athlete, Zuzana Maderova, a 22-year-old with no previous World Cup victories, who opened a lead over the struggling Payer and finished 0.83 seconds ahead in the gold-medal race, marking her first triumph in a major event.
The sole repeat on this day was Austria’s Benjamin Karl, who secured his second consecutive title before celebrating by removing his shirt, performing a dramatic weightlifter pose, and then falling, bare-chested, into the snow.
After entering the Milan Cortina Games as a strong favorite for gold, Ledecka watched from the sidelines. She hadn’t been defeated in a PGS World Cup race for nearly two years and had consistently reached the podium in her last five outings.
Ledecka excelled in the qualifying rounds, finishing her two time trials a remarkable 0.69 seconds ahead of the second-fastest racer, earning the top seed in the 16-woman field. That second-place competitor was Maderova, and in a display of the Czech Republic’s current dominance in this sport, no one else was within 1.39 seconds of her.
yet, during the second round of head-to-head racing, Ledecka’s journey came to an end. Payer surged to an early advantage, expertly navigating tight lines between the gates and maintaining her lead throughout. She adds this silver medal to her two earlier victories on this season’s World Cup circuit.
For Maderova, her first victory came at the most opportune time — the Olympics, on a bright, sunny day at Livigno Snow Park.
Ledecka made headlines in 2018 when she became the first athlete to win both a snowboard event and an Alpine race at the same Olympics. Her unexpected super-G win in skiing was a highlight, but she was widely anticipated to excel in her “stronger” discipline, the PGS, which she had dominated.
She successfully defended her snowboard title in China four years ago.
This year, she aimed to win titles in both the Alpine women’s downhill and PGS, but they were scheduled for the same day. Choosing snowboarding, she ultimately walked away without either title, her defeat occurring just hours after Lindsey Vonn’s crash on the downhill run.
Ledecka is still set to compete in skiing’s super-G on Thursday.
She has primarily participated in ski events leading up to the Olympics this season, featuring in nine Alpine races which yielded one podium finish, contrasted with a single snowboarding event, which she won.
Ledecka’s loss opens up an opportunity for Austria’s Anna Gasser to become the first snowboarder to clinch three consecutive Olympic titles. Gasser is slated to compete in big air qualifying later on Sunday. Also vying for a three-peat is Chloe Kim, whose halfpipe event begins on Wednesday.
