Czech Chasing Olympic First

(ATR) World champion snowboarder Ester Ledecka continues to amass victories, yet her goals are substantially loftier.

Ledecka, 21, raced to her ninth career World Cup snowboard win in parallel giant slalom, edging out Tomoka Takeuchi of Japan in Turkey on Sunday. The Czech Republic boarder leads the overall parallel standings as she seeks to defend her overall title.

While Ledecka has firmly established herself as one of the world’s top snowboard racers, she is attempting to accomplish something never done before in Olympic history next winter in PyeongChang – compete in both snowboarding and alpine skiing at the Games.

"It’s my biggest dream and I will do my best for it," Ledecka told Around the Rings at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in St. Moritz. "For now, it looks like I will be nominated for skiing as well as snowboarding, but the nomination is not closed yet.

"I don’t really know how it will feel to be at the Olympics in both, but I’ll do my best to show the rest of the season that I’m the one who should be there," she said.

Competing as a teenager at the Sochi 2014 Olympics, Ledecka finished sixth and seventh in snowboard parallel slalom and giant slalom. The multi-talented athlete from Prague became parallel slalom world champion in Lachtal, Austria in 2015 at age 19. She also won two world junior titles in 2013.

Ledecka skied in her first World Cup race in Feb. 2016 and her results since have quickly improved. At a downhill race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Jan. 21, she finished a highly respectable 13th, just 1.7 seconds behind winner Lindsey Vonn.

At the St. Moritz world championships last month, Ledecka raced in four events, her best result a 20th place finish in Alpine combined.

Ledecka says she would like to compete in five events in PyeongChang – downhill, super-G, combined and giant slalom in skiing and parallel giant slalom in snowboarding, considering parallel slalom is no longer on the Olympic program.

She was forced to skip a PyeongChang Olympic snowboard test event at Bokwang Snow Park in February in order to race at the world ski championships. Ledecka concedes that finding the time to train and juggle both skiing and snowboarding is not an easy task.

"It is a little bit this year like divorced parents who have a child and in March it’s my baby and then in April the other can have it – it’s always funny," Ledecka said with a laugh.

Regarding her chances of competing in five events at PyeongChang 2018, she added: "If the schedule is too tough and if it is not possible with human powers, then I have to choose."

Ledecka says she is inspired by her grandfather Jan Klapac, who won Olympic ice hockey bronze and silver medals for Czechoslovakia at the 1964 and 1968 Games. Her grandmother was a figure skater.

Originally from Prague, Ledecka learned to snowboard and ski in the Czech Krkonose Mountains at a resort named Spindleruv Mlyn. Now, she trains throughout the Alps.

Next up for Ledecka – who turns 22 on March 23 – are the FIS Snowboard World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain, where she aims to defend her world parallel slalom title on March 15.

Considering Ledecka is currently the number one ranked Czech ski racer in both super-G and downhill and posted a solid result in Alpine combined at the world championships, her Olympic aspirations appear on track to becoming reality next winter in South Korea.

Written by Brian Pinelli

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