Olympics
Czech superstar Ester Ledecká has officially decided to compete in snowboarding rather than Alpine skiing at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, after a scheduling conflict forced the athlete to choose between competing in Snowboarding ParallelGiant Slalom (PGS) or Downhill Alpine skiing. Ledecká had qualified—like in previous Olympics—for both events but for the first time in her career was faced with having to choose which event to attend despite qualifying for both. The talented Czech racer became the first athlete ever to win Gold medals in two different sports at the same Winter Olympics, when she won the Super-G as well as the Snowboard PGS at Pyeongchang Winter Games in 2018.
The 30-year-old athlete had lobbied for months for a schedule change that would allow her to contest both the women’s Downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo and the PGS in Livigno. However, the final Olympic timetable made it impossible with the Downhill set for 11:30 a.m. and the Snowboard finals at 1:00 p.m. on the same day, February 8. A four hour drive separates the two venues.
“I cried a bit a few times about it, but we did the best we could,” Ledecká said to Olympics.com. “I understand that it’s not easy to coordinate the program, but I believed it could be done. I’m the only athlete who has qualified for two sports for the third time, so I was hoping they would take that into account.”
Ledecká’s appeal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), supported by FIS President Johan Eliasch, was ultimately denied. “At the moment we’re certain that the program won’t change,” confirmed Jiří Kejval, head of the Czech Olympic Committee, noting that all possible avenues had been explored.
The RedBull athlete has long argued that her success in both disciplines is interconnected—that skiing hones her speed and power, while snowboarding refines her balance and technical precision. Still, her greatest dominance lies in snowboarding, where she has amassed 25 World Cup victories in just 63 starts and stands poised to become the first woman ever to win three consecutive Olympic golds in the discipline.
Her choice of snowboarding for February 8 does not completely end her Alpine ambitions. Ledecká is expected to compete in the Super-G on February 12, where she remains a strong medal contender. Yet the decision to skip the Downhill, the marquee event in Alpine skiing, has been a tough decision for the seasoned athlete.
While it surely is disappointing for Ledecká to not be able to showcase her full range of ability at the 2026 Winter Games, she has forever rewritten Olympic history with her 2018 double victory.
