Ester Ledecka, known as a versatile skier and snowboarder, is facing challenges trying to replicate her dual gold-medal success from the Pyeongchang Olympics due to conflicting schedules. She is not pleased with the way events are lined up, making it difficult for her to participate in both sports. An upcoming competition on February 4th, 2019 highlights this issue.
On that day, the parallel giant slalom event at the freestyle ski and snowboard world championships in Utah coincides with the start of downhill training at the Skiing worlds in Are, Sweden, with the super-G race preceding it. Ledecka expressed her disappointment on Tuesday, hoping that the snowboard race could be rescheduled a week earlier to allow her to compete in both. However, the conflicting schedules force her to choose only one event to participate in.
These concerns come after Ledecka finished 29th in a World Cup downhill ski race. At the Pyeongchang Olympics, she made history by securing gold in super-G Alpine skiing and parallel GS snowboarding, becoming the first athlete to win two gold medals in different events with different equipment at the same Winter Games.
At 23 years old, the Czech athlete holds the title of world champion in parallel GS. She has raised the issue with the International Ski Federation, responsible for overseeing both sports, and remains optimistic that a resolution will be found soon. Ledecka has not yet decided in which competitions she will participate, as she navigates between the snowboard and ski circuits.
