Ester Ledecka, who achieved a remarkable feat of winning gold in two distinct disciplines at a single Winter Olympics, has faced a challenging decision ahead of the upcoming Milan-Cortina Games. The Czech athlete has opted to forgo participation in the alpine downhill event to focus on pursuing her third consecutive Olympic gold in snowboarding’s giant slalom. Despite her efforts to resolve a scheduling conflict between the two events, it became clear that she could not compete in both competitions as they are scheduled on the same day.
The 30-year-old made an unsuccessful appeal to the International Olympic Committee, with the support of Johan Eliasch, the head of skiing’s governing body FIS. Expressing her disappointment, Ledecka mentioned that while she shed a few tears over the situation, she acknowledged the challenges of coordinating the program. She highlighted her unique qualification for two sports events for the third time and had hoped for special consideration in scheduling.
The final of the snowboarding parallel giant slalom is set to take place in Livigno, Italy, at 1 p.m. on Feb. 8, while the women’s downhill event is scheduled in Cortina at 11:30 a.m. on the same day. The distance between the two venues is approximately a four-hour drive.
Jiří Kejval, the head of the Czech Olympic Committee, confirmed that the current program schedule is unlikely to change, expressing regret over the circumstances but emphasizing that they had done their best within the given constraints.
Ledecka previously made history as the only female athlete to qualify for both alpine skiing and snowboarding events at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where she clinched gold in the super-G and the parallel giant slalom. In the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, she successfully defended her snowboarding title and achieved fifth place in the super-G, 27th in the downhill, and fourth in the alpine combined. Additionally, she secured a bronze medal in the downhill at the recent alpine skiing world championships.
Looking ahead, Ledecka is expected to participate in the women’s super-G event at next year’s Olympics, scheduled for Feb. 12.
