"Ester Ledecka's quest to become the first snowboarder to win gold medals in three straight Olympics came to a surprisingly early end Sunday. She lost her quarterfinal race in the sport's parallel giant slalom by 0.06 seconds to Austria's Sabine Payer. The 30-year-old Czech racer was a big favorite for gold. She hadn't lost a PGS World Cup race in almost two years and hadn't missed a podium in five."
"Ledecka made history in 2018 when she became the first athlete to win both a snowboard race and one on skis at the same Olympics. Her Alpine skiing super-G win was considered a shocker, but everyone expected her to dominate in her "better" sport, the PGS, and she did. She defended the snowboarding title in China four years ago. This year, she was hoping to get wins in both the Alpine women's downhill and PGS, but they were scheduled on the same day."
"She chose snowboard and ended up with neither title - her loss coming a couple hours after Lindsey Vonn's wipeout on the downhill course. Ledecka is still scheduled to race in skiing's super-G Thursday. Ledecka's loss gives Austria's Anna Gasser a chance to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic titles. Gasser takes the hill in big air qualifiying later Sunday. Also trying for a three-peat is Chloe Kim. Her halfpipe contest starts Wednesday."
Ester Ledecka was eliminated in the parallel giant slalom quarterfinals after losing by 0.06 seconds to Austria's Sabine Payer, ending her bid for a third straight Olympic snowboard gold. The 30-year-old Czech entered the event as a heavy favorite, unbeaten in PGS World Cup races for nearly two years and on a five-race podium streak. Ledecka previously won both snowboard and Alpine titles at the 2018 Olympics and defended her snowboarding title in China. She chose to race snowboard over the Alpine downhill on the same day and finished without either title. Ledecka remains entered in skiing's super-G on Thursday. Anna Gasser and Chloe Kim pursue three-peat opportunities in their events.
Read at ESPN.com
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