Ester Ledecka Wins Women's Snowboarding PGS Big Gold Medal at Olympics 2022

Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic defeated Austria's Daniela Ulbing in the final of the women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom to win the gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Tuesday.

Ledecka, who also won the event at the 2018 Games, posted the best time by over two seconds in qualifying and then took advantage of mistakes, as none of her four opponents in the elimination round were able to finish the Genting Snow Park course.

Slovenia's Gloria Kotnik beat out the Netherlands' Michelle Dekker in the third-place race to capture the bronze medal.

Ledecka, 26, stole the spotlight in Pyeongchang four years ago by winning gold medals in two different sports—the snowboarding parallel giant slalom and the Alpine skiing Super-G, which made her the first woman to accomplish the feat at the Winter Olympics.

Her run in Beijing is off to a strong start thanks to another triumph in the parallel giant slalom, and she'll once again take part in downhill skiing events later in the Games.

"It was fun. I was trying to be consistent and just staying in my line with what I was doing the whole day," Ledecka told reporters. "I made a good job, I'm very proud of my team, so thank you very much to them, especially Justin [Reiter], my American coach. They made an amazing job, and I'm happy that I was able to finish like that."

Meanwhile, Ulbing was pleased to capture silver for her first Olympic medal, and she provided a glimpse into the mindset that could help explain why all of Ledecka's opponents posted DNFs.

"I had to risk it all to try to beat Ester," Ulbing said. "That's what I did and mistakes happen, but I'm pretty happy I ended up second. I'm really happy; it's amazing. I don't know what to say more, I'm just happy."

The "small final," the name given to the bronze-medal race, also finished in anticlimactic fashion as Kotnik's victory came amid a Dekker DNF. She'd lost to Ulbing in the semifinals by just over two-tenths of a second, showcasing how intense the races can be when both athletes finish the course.

No Americans were among the 31 qualifiers in the event.

The snowboarding schedule continues Wednesday with qualification runs in the men's and women's halfpipe along with medals being awarded in women's snowboard cross.