Relive the historic moment Czech skier and snowboarder Ester Ledecká became the first person in history to not only compete but also win across two entirely different pieces of winter equipment at the Pyeongchang Winter Games in 2018.
This FIS special focusses on Ester Ledecká who grew up adoring snowboarding and skiing. She initially started competing in Snowboarding, having her debut on the World Cup circuit at only 17 in March 2013 after having won the Junior World Championships in both Parallel Slalom and Parallel Giant Slalom that year. She went on to win the Overall Season Parallel Snowboarding Title for four consecutive seasons. However, Ledecká also always enjoyed skiing and kept training and competing in Super-G and Downhill. This did not sit well with the Czech Ski Association which told her to choose between the two disciplines, however, Ledecká refused and funds a lot of her training to this day herself and through sponsors.
Her dream was to qualify for the Winter Olympics in both disciplines and not only did she achieve that dream, she also went on to win both events. Her victory in the Super-G came as a huge upset, as the Czech skier had never podiumed in a World Cup and was ranked 29th at the time in Super-G. She beat the leading time by 0.01 seconds, relegating Austria’s Andrea Veith to second place. She had even borrowed Mikaela Shiffrin’s Super-G skis for the race, both Atomic athletes at the time. Ledecka admits to being so shocked, she was sure it was a technical fault and did not celebrate as she was convinved it was a glitch.
Many said it was a one-off, not to be repeated, as the Czech skier’s personal best up til then had been 17th place in a World Cup, but since then Ledecká has gone on to win a total of four World Cup races and podiumed in total 10 times, proving it wasn’t a fluke. Her most recent victory came at the World Cup Finals in Saalbach, Austria, in March this year.
