Snowboard-Austria's Karl retains Olympic title in parallel giant slalom
LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 8 : Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl raced to a second straight gold medal in the men's parallel giant slalom on Sunday at the Milano Cortina Games, capping his glittering career on the slopes at his fifth Olympics.
In the women's event, Czech snowboarder Zuzana Maderova triumphed after teammate and two-time Olympic gold medallist Ester Ledecka was knocked out in the quarter-finals.
To celebrate, Karl, 40, tore off his shirt and lay on his stomach in the snow, pumping his arms and shouting, in what he defined as an "upper body free session" which he wanted to do in homage to his idol, alpine skier Hermann Maier, also from Austria, who had once done the same.
"Now I did it, this is the crown of my career," he added with a laugh.
Karl, who has said he plans to retire after this season, edged silver medallist Sangkyum Kim of South Korea by 0.19 seconds, landing his fourth Olympic medal.
He earned silver in Vancouver in 2010, a bronze at the 2014 Games in Sochi and gold at Beijing four years ago. His full set of medals at home reduced the pressure on Sunday, Karl said.
"Having won gold, silver and bronze, I was super relaxed today and all the days before. Less pressure than my competitors," he said.
HEAVY MEDAL
Tervel Zamfirov of Bulgaria scored the bronze in a photo finish over Slovenia's Tim Mastnak, the silver medallist in Beijing. "The medal is super heavy but there was some very heavy working before it," Zamfirov said.
Incredulous at her unexpected victory, Maderova, the women's champion, jumped on the top step of the podium at the medal ceremony.
"I was a little sad about (Ledecka's elimination) but I am so happy I am Olympic champion," she said, adding she could still not believe it.
Sabine Payer of Austria, who kicked Ledecka out of the contest, bagged a silver medal.
The 30-year-old Ledecka was the first female to win gold in two different Winter Olympic sports at Pyeongchang 2018 when she prevailed in the snowboarding PGS and the skiing Super-G.
Ledecka had to choose between the two events in Milan due to a scheduling clash, opting for snowboarding over the downhill races.
"I feel sorry for my team, but I did my best and that's just what can happen in sports," Ledecka said.
Host Italy had high hopes for multiple parallel giant slalom medals but ended with the single bronze awarded to Lucia Dalmasso, the first in both men's and women's snowboard in 24 years for the country.
"I've been dreaming about this medal for a long time and now it's here. I don't even know what to say," she said as she kept sobbing and held on tight to her medal.
