OUT OF NOWHERE

Czech Snowboarder Stuns to Claim Olympic Skiing Gold

“How did that happen?” she said after blowing away U.S. ski star Lindsey Vonn.

In one of the biggest upsets of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, a Czech snowboarder captured an Olympic gold in Alpine skiing Saturday, beating U.S. ski racer Lindsay Vonn and other ski champions to claim the super-G title. The stunning run by 22-year-old Ester Ledecka—completed in 1 minute, 21.11 seconds—left even her a bit confused. “How did that happen?” she asked after seeing her time. Ledecka is primarily a snowboarder who dabbles in skiing on her off days. Throughout all of 19 World Cup skiing races in her entire career, Ledecka only once managed to finish as high as seventh. No one ever suspected she could claim gold in skiing, said Justin Reiter, her coach in snowboarding. “She just wanted to come here and be the first person ever to ski and snowboard race,” he said. Ledecka went up against superstar Vonn, who tied for sixth and called Ledecka’s win “definitely shocking.” Austria’s Anna Veith claimed silver in the race, and Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein took the bronze.