Ledecká reshuffles team in pursuit of Crystal Globe dream
The Czech skiing and snowboarding legend Ester Ledecká has announced she is looking for a new coach. The three-time Olympic champion says she still has one big dream to fulfil.
Ester Ledecká, dubbed the “Czech snow queen”, made sports history in 2018 when she won gold in the alpine skiing Super-G and the snowboard parallel giant slalom at the PyeongChang games.
She finished 17th overall in last season’s Alpine Skiing World Cup standings and placed fifth in the super-G discipline. She recorded eleven top-ten finishes. However, at the February Olympic Games in Italy, she failed to win a medal in both the super-G and the parallel giant slalom snowboarding event.
“In the World Cup on skis this year I scored only ten points fewer than in my best season, which means my performance is slowly returning after a serious injury that kept me from training for more than a year. That obviously makes me happy. But there is still a lot I don’t know yet, and a lot I need to improve and work on with my team,” Ledecká said.
At a post-season press conference, Ledecká said she was ready for a re-start. She revealed that ski coaches Franz Gamper and Tomáš Bank had both left her team and she is looking around for a new coach.
“It’s an unwritten rule that after the World Cup finals everyone can test whatever they want. So I’m doing that now and we’ll see what comes of it.”
Gamper had coached Ledecká since 2020, while Bank had been part of her team since the 2016/17 season. He helped her to a sensational victory at the Olympic Games in Korea, but over time his role diminished.
“Thank you guys, for helping me fulfill my dreams. It was an honour to work with you! Wishing you all the best!” Ledecká wrote on Facebook when the news of their departure broke.
What her new team will look like is still uncertain, as is what equipment she will be using. A few days ago, she reportedly tested new skis in Italy with one of the potential new coaches, but was reluctant to reveal who it was.
“There will be some changes in the team, but how it all settles is something we will probably have to discuss at a pre-season press conference, because I don’t yet know exactly how it will turn out, but there will definitely be a lot of changes,” she told reporters.
In the upcoming season, she plans to continue competing in both skiing and snowboarding.
At 31, Ester Ledecká has some major successes under her belt, but there is still one dream she’d like to fulfil - a Crystal Globe from the Alpine Skiing World Cup. And she’s ready to reach out for it.
“I’m probably a bit of a crazy person, so I believe that everything is possible. The important thing is for me to stay healthy, for my body to function, that’s probably most important. I need to learn to work with myself a bit better, with my body and my mind, to train it, because I believe the Crystal Globe can be won. But I need to improve, that’s clear.”
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