Ledecka defends Olympic snowboard PGS title, ski racing next

ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic defended her Olympic snowboard parallel giant slalom title with a quick final run on a sun-splashed course Tuesday.

On deck, a switch over to ski racing to try and defend her super-G crown.

Four years ago in South Korea, Ledecka became the first competitor to win gold in two different sports at the same Winter Games. She has a chance to accomplish the feat once again in China. The women’s super-G ski race is scheduled for Friday at the Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center.

In the gold-medal race, the top-seeded Ledecka opened an early lead on Daniela Ulbing, putting pressure on the Austrian snowboarder along the side-by-side course at the Genting Snow Park. Ulbing made a mistake up top and later veered off course. Gloria Kotnik of Slovenia earned the bronze.

On the men’s side, second-seeded Benjamin Karl of Austria held off Tim Mastnak of Slovenia for the gold. Russian athlete Vic Wild picked up the bronze as the No. 9 seed in the bracketed field. Wild, who is from the United States and was granted Russian citizenship in 2012, won gold in the event at the 2014 Sochi Games.

The 26-year-old Ledecka was a surprise winner in the super-G at the Pyeongchang Games. Wearing bib No. 26 that day, she made a late charge when many thought the race was over to wind up on top of the podium.

These days, she’s no longer a surprise.

Just don’t ask her to pick snowboarding or skiing over the other. In her heart, she’s equal parts of both.

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