Winter Olympics 2018: Snowboarding champion Ledecka revels in unlikely super-G gold

Pyeongchang, February 17: From snowboarding sensation to super-G gold medallist. Ester Ledecka was lost for words after claiming a stunning victory at the Winter Olympics on Saturday.

A world champion in snowboard parallel giant slalom, while also leading the World Cup rankings this season, not much was expected of Ledecka – ranked 43rd in Alpine super-G this year.

However, Ledecka defied the odds and a star-studded field in Pyeongchang, including defending champion Anna Veith and American star Lindsey Vonn, to pull off one of the biggest shocks in Winter Olympic Games history.

The 22-year-old Czech posted a time of one minute, 21.11 seconds to pip 2014 gold medallist Veith by 0.01secs, while Vonn finished sixth.

17FEB Alpine Skiing - Ladies’ Super-G
2/17 알파인 스키 - 여자 슈퍼대회전

GoldLEDECKA Ester / CZE
SilverVEITH Anna/ AUT
BronzeWEIRATHER Tina / LIE

Congratulations!축하합니다! pic.twitter.com/OtuVAN83SG

— PyeongChang 2018 (@pyeongchang2018) February 17, 2018

Asked about when she saw her name atop the leaderboard, Ledecka said: "I really don't know what happened. This must be some mistake. That they're going to switch the time for some others.

"I just saw my mum, we were watching each other, we didn't understand. I was asking her if it looked good and if I didn't miss any gates. I think they're as surprised as me."

"I was probably the only snowboarder on site. All the other girls didn't risk a lot. There must be a lot of pressure on them. I was just trying to do my best run," she continued.

Pushed on her achievement in super-G as a world champion in snowboarding, Ledecka said: "I don't know. I am so surprised about all of it. I'm really trying to win and do a good run every time but I didn't really realise that this really can happen.

"I thought this will come much later on in my career. But this is great, if it can happen like that."

Source: OPTA