PYEONGCHANG, Korea, Republic Of 鈥� Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic stunned everyone, including herself, by winning the gold in the women鈥檚 super-G.
Ledecka simply couldn鈥檛 believe she was No. 1 on the videoboard standings moments after crossing the finish line.
Her time of 1 minute, 21.11 seconds was just 0.01 seconds faster than Austria鈥檚 Anna Veith, the defending Olympic champion. While Veith was one of the favourites, the 22-year-old Ledecka was a low-ranked competitor who was considered a better contender for a medal in snowboarding.
She鈥檚 now an Olympic champion.
鈥淚s this a kind of mistake?鈥� Ledecka said when asked what immediately went through her mind. 鈥淥K, they鈥檙e going to change the time. I鈥檓 going to wait for a little bit, and you鈥檙e going to switch and (add) some more seconds.鈥�
Nope, not quite.
American star Lindsey Vonn, who tied for sixth in her first event in Pyeongchang, echoed the sentiments of Ledecka 鈥� and just about everyone else.
鈥淒efinitely shocking,鈥� Vonn said.