Ledecká wins gold at Freestyle Ski & Snowboard World Championships
Nineteen-year-old Czech snowboarder Ester Ledecká fulfilled her childhood dream, winning gold at the World Championships. Way back when her grandfather was a World Championship gold winner in ice hockey; she is the first Czech to have clinched the gold in the parallel slalom.
Afterwards, Ledecká, the youngest racer in the competition, was ecstatic, telling Czech Radio she was amazed how things had turned out. Here’s what she had to say:
“I still can’t believe it! It is unbelievable and fantastic. This was one of my biggest dreams. My granddad was a World Champion and I always wanted to be like him. This has brought me a little closer to his achievement. It was a huge dream for me and now it has come true.”
The racer agreed nerves had played a role in her first race of qualification, where she made single mistake, but that once she found her rhythm, things went much more smoothly.
“For the finals I picked the red lane and I stuck with it. There was a moment when I thought I would pick the blue lane but decided to stick with red as I had gotten used to it.”
“It took a little getting used to. At the top there was a fair amount of visibility and less at the bottom. But the course was well-marked so it wasn’t too drastic.”
On Friday in Lachtal, Austria, Ledecká qualified for the Giant Slalom but unfortunately fell in the quarterfinal round. In the giant slalom she finished fifth.
