Versatile Ledecka wins parallel giant slalom at snowboard world championships
ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Ester Ledecka added another trophy to her collection of silverware when she won the parallel giant slalom at the snowboard world championships on Thursday.
The three-time Olympic champion, who won bronze in the downhill at the Alpine skiing worlds in February, was in a class of her own and dominated qualification then easily defeated all of her rivals en route to the final. There, she beat the defending women's parallel giant slalom champion Miki Tsubaki of Japan.
It was Ledecka's first snowboard world title in eight years.
The versatile Czech athlete already had two golds and a silver from parallel giant slalom races at the snowboarding worlds in 2015 and 2017.
'It's awesome,' Ledecka said. 'I haven't competed in a world championships since (2017) because it was difficult with timing because of skiing events.'
Aleksandra Krol-Walas of Poland won the bronze medal race over Ladina Caviezel of Switzerland.
Ledecka famously won Olympic gold in skiing's super-G and snowboarding's parallel GS at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, and added another gold on her board in 2022 in Beijing.
A scheduling issue at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics — where the parallel GS in snowboarding and the Alpine downhill are both set for Feb. 8 at venues hours apart — might deny her a chance to replicate that achievement from 2018.
Roland Fischnaller of Italy, who is 44, won the men's title by defeating Stefan Baumeister of Germany in the final. Lee Sang-ho won the bronze medal.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
A.J. Greer is making his Stanley Cup Final debut for the Florida Panthers in Game 3
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A.J. Greer is back in for the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night after missing the first two in the series against the Edmonton Oilers because of injury. Coach Paul Maurice confirmed Greer would return on Florida's fourth line. Jesper Boqvist comes out of the lineup to make room for Greer, who will be making his first career appearance in the final. 'It's definitely a dream come true, but I'm not really trying to focus on that,' Greer said after the team's morning skate. 'It's another game for me and I'm just trying to enjoy it, but I'm not trying to associate anything bigger than just my next shift, really.' Greer, 28, gutted through injury for part of this playoff run before exiting in the Eastern Conference final against Carolina when it was clear he wasn't healthy enough to stay in. Maurice lauded Greer for his lack of selfishness and an abundance of self-awareness to understand when the pain threshold was reached and do what's best for the team. 'Good on him for recognizing that,' Maurice said. 'We were fortunate that we were able to heal A.J. to a place that he's really confident in what he's doing. ... He's been such a positive part of what we do.' Greer almost wasn't here at all. A little over four years ago, he was languishing in the minors and almost giving up on his NHL dream. 'I was pretty much 24 hours away from just calling it, going to Europe and trying to just get a paycheck, trying to squeeze out every dollar that I can out of this sport and then live my life,' Greer said. 'Fortunately, things kind of bounced my way.' Greer was essentially a throw-in as part of a trade to the New Jersey Devils that got the New York Islanders Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac, who helped them reach the East final. Greer — who was a second-round pick of Colorado in 2015 and played 37 games for the Avalanche from 2016-18 — developed some confidence with the American Hockey League's Utica Comets and cracked the Devils' roster a few times. Agent Philippe Lecavalier challenged Greer over whether he wanted to be an AHL player or adapt his style to be a role player in the NHL. 'You could say I wanted to try to prove him wrong,' Greer said. 'I kind of just went day by day, got better mentally, physically and matured with my game. I understood if I wanted to ever play in the NHL again, the way I have to play and the things I have to do — and I got a chance, so I'm very grateful for that. It all led up to here.' At 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds, Greer has been a physical force for Florida as the Panthers try to repeat as champions. He is one of the newcomers, along with their leading scorer in the final, Nate Schmidt, and teammates are happy to have Greer back. 'He's a pain to play against,' Evan Rodrigues said. 'He's a guy that can change the momentum of a game. He's heavy on the forecheck. For the most part, I don't think you want to get hit by him. He's a really good presence for us. And he chips in offensively. He lays the body. Just overall a pain the neck to play against.' That came with time and trial and error as Greer learned how to have an impact with limited ice time. This spring brought his first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and he has made the most of his nearly eight minutes a game. 'My game's grown, especially this year,' Greer said. 'My confidence has grown, and I'm ready to take on the biggest challenge that I've really faced in my career.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
A.J. Greer is making his Stanley Cup Final debut for the Florida Panthers in Game 3
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A.J. Greer is back in for the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night after missing the first two in the series against the Edmonton Oilers because of injury. Coach Paul Maurice confirmed Greer would return on Florida's fourth line. Jesper Boqvist comes out of the lineup to make room for Greer, who will be making his first career appearance in the final. 'It's definitely a dream come true, but I'm not really trying to focus on that,' Greer said after the team's morning skate. 'It's another game for me and I'm just trying to enjoy it, but I'm not trying to associate anything bigger than just my next shift, really.' Greer, 28, gutted through injury for part of this playoff run before exiting in the Eastern Conference final against Carolina when it was clear he wasn't healthy enough to stay in. Maurice lauded Greer for his lack of selfishness and an abundance of self-awareness to understand when the pain threshold was reached and do what's best for the team. 'Good on him for recognizing that,' Maurice said. 'We were fortunate that we were able to heal A.J. to a place that he's really confident in what he's doing. ... He's been such a positive part of what we do.' Greer almost wasn't here at all. A little over four years ago, he was languishing in the minors and almost giving up on his NHL dream. 'I was pretty much 24 hours away from just calling it, going to Europe and trying to just get a paycheck, trying to squeeze out every dollar that I can out of this sport and then live my life,' Greer said. 'Fortunately, things kind of bounced my way.' Greer was essentially a throw-in as part of a trade to the New Jersey Devils that got the New York Islanders Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac , who helped them reach the East final. Greer — who was a second-round pick of Colorado in 2015 and played 37 games for the Avalanche from 2016-18 — developed some confidence with the American Hockey League's Utica Comets and cracked the Devils' roster a few times. Agent Philippe Lecavalier challenged Greer over whether he wanted to be an AHL player or adapt his style to be a role player in the NHL. 'You could say I wanted to try to prove him wrong,' Greer said. 'I kind of just went day by day, got better mentally, physically and matured with my game. I understood if I wanted to ever play in the NHL again, the way I have to play and the things I have to do — and I got a chance, so I'm very grateful for that. It all led up to here.' At 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds, Greer has been a physical force for Florida as the Panthers try to repeat as champions. He is one of the newcomers, along with their leading scorer in the final, Nate Schmidt , and teammates are happy to have Greer back. 'He's a pain to play against,' Evan Rodrigues said. 'He's a guy that can change the momentum of a game. He's heavy on the forecheck. For the most part, I don't think you want to get hit by him. He's a really good presence for us. And he chips in offensively. He lays the body. Just overall a pain the neck to play against.' That came with time and trial and error as Greer learned how to have an impact with limited ice time. This spring brought his first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and he has made the most of his nearly eight minutes a game. 'My game's grown, especially this year,' Greer said. 'My confidence has grown, and I'm ready to take on the biggest challenge that I've really faced in my career.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Man City signs left back Aït-Nouri from Wolves ahead of Club World Cup
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City signed Algeria left back Rayan Aït-Nouri from Wolverhampton for a reported fee of 37 million euros ($42 million) on Monday. City has been deploying center backs Nathan Ake and, more recently, Josko Gvardiol at left back in recent seasons but now has a specialist option in Aït-Nouri, who is a very attacking full back. Advertisement The 24-year-old Aït-Nouri joined Wolves from French team Angers in 2020. 'City are one of the biggest clubs in the world,' he said, 'and the chance to play for the club is a dream come true.' His contract at City runs to 2030 and he will be available for the new-look, 32-team Club World Cup, which starts on Saturday. City is in the same group as Juventus, Al Ain and Wydad Casablanca and its first match is on June 18. ___ AP soccer: The Associated Press
