LIVIGNO, Italy — Ester Ledecka’s bid to make Olympic snowboarding history ended earlier than expected Sunday when the Czech star was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the women’s parallel giant slalom at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Ledecka lost her head-to-head race by just 0.06 seconds to Austria’s Sabine Payer, a narrow defeat that halted her pursuit of a third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event.
The 30-year-old entered the race as the clear favorite. She had not lost a PGS World Cup race in nearly two years and had finished on the podium in five straight events. Ledecka previously won Olympic gold in parallel giant slalom in both 2018 and 2022.
She first captured global attention at the 2018 Winter Games when she became the first athlete to win Olympic gold in both snowboarding and Alpine skiing at the same Olympics. While her super-G skiing victory was a major upset, Ledecka has long been considered nearly unbeatable in parallel giant slalom.
This year, Ledecka had hoped to contend for gold in both the women’s downhill in Alpine skiing and parallel giant slalom snowboarding. However, the events were scheduled on the same day, forcing her to choose. She opted to snowboard but ended the day without a medal, just hours after Lindsey Vonn’s crash in the downhill race.
Despite Sunday’s loss, Ledecka’s Olympic schedule is not over. She is set to compete in the Alpine skiing super-G on Thursday. During the lead-up to the Games, she focused primarily on skiing, entering nine Alpine races and earning one podium finish. She competed in just one snowboard event this season, which she won.
Payer, who eliminated Ledecka, has been one of the top snowboarders on tour this season with two victories and a share of the lead in the FIS standings. In their quarterfinal matchup, Payer jumped out to an early advantage, took clean lines through the gates and never gave up the lead.
Ledecka’s exit opens the door for Austria’s Anna Gasser to chase history of her own. Gasser has a chance to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic gold medals and will compete in big air qualifying later Sunday. American star Chloe Kim is also pursuing a three-peat, with her women’s halfpipe competition beginning Wednesday.