Benjamin Karl Wins Men's Snowboarding PGS Big Gold Medal at Olympics 2022

Benjamin Karl has won his first Olympic gold medal in his third career appearance at the Games.

The Austrian snowboarder took the top prize in the men's parallel giant slalom Tuesday in Beijing. He defeated Slovenia's Tim Mastnak by 0.82 seconds in the final.

Vic Wild of the Russian Olympic Committee beat Italy's Roland Fischnaller for the bronze medal.

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Parallel Giant Slalom Results

Gold: Benjamin Karl (Austria)

Silver: Tim Mastnak (Slovenia)

Bronze: Vic Wild (Russian Olympic Committee)

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Karl has now won all three Olympic medals in his stellar career. The 36-year-old won silver in this event in his first appearance at the Games in 2010. He took home bronze in the parallel slalom in Sochi four years later. 

"When I was a child ... I wrote on a sheet of paper that one day I would be world champion,'' Karl told reporters after his victory. "I will be the fastest racer in the world and I'll be an Olympic champion."

Olympic gold was the only thing missing from Karl's stellar career. He had eight medals in the World Championships, including five golds between the parallel slalom and giant slalom. 

Karl defeated countryman Andreas Prommegger to win gold at the 2021 World Championships in Slovenia. 

Mastnak's second-place finish gave him his first Olympic medal. The 31-year-old finished 16th in this event four years ago in Pyeongchang. He beat Wild by 0.48 seconds in the semifinals to secure a spot on the podium.

Wild returned to the medal stand for the first time since his history-making appearance at the 2014 Games. He was the first snowboarder to win two medals at the same Olympics when he won gold in the parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom. 

After a 10th-place showing four years ago, Wild finished third in the giant slalom this time around.