Feb 17, 2018; Pyeongchang, South Korea; Silver medal winner Anna Veith (AUT), left, gold medal winner Ester Ledecka (CZE) and bronze medal winner Tina Weirather (LIE) celebrate their victories in the alpine skiing Super-G event during the medals ceremony in the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games at Medals Plaza. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czechs celebrated their nation's first Alpine Olympic gold medal on Saturday after Ester Ledecka's shock win in the Super-G with newspaper headlines trumpeting the victory and television news giving the soft-spoken 22-year-old old blanket coverage. Ledecka produced one of the biggest upsets of the Winter Olympics when she tore down Jeongseon slope in bib number 26 to win the race on borrowed skis. "Golden Miracle!" blared the popular tabloid Blesk as Czech news websites featured the story on top of their home pages and television stations ran replays of the run that marks only the third Olympic medal in Alpine skiing for the country of 10.6 million. The two previous medals were both bronze, won by Sarka Strachova in Vancouver in 2010 and Olga Charvatova in 1984 in Sarajevo. Ledecka, who will also compete in the snowboard parallel giant slalom, is ranked 43rd in the World Cup standings and Czech commentators thought a win so unlikely that they focussed on her mistakes during the run before bursting into screams of joy when they realized she had won gold.
"Incredible! Nobody can believe this! Ester Ledecka has the gold!," they shouted immediately after she crossed the finish line.
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