Olympics-Snowboard-Maderova wins gold in women's parallel giant slalom

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Snowboard - Women's Parallel Giant Slalom Quarterfinals - Livigno Snow Park, Livigno, Italy - February 08, 2026. Ester Ledecka of Czech Republic in action during her quarterfinal against Sabine Payer of Austria in the Women's Parallel Giant Slalom REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb ‌8 (Reuters) - Czech snowboarder Zuzana Maderova claimed ‌gold in the women's parallel giant slalom and Benjamin Karl of Austria retained his title in ‍the men's event at ‍the Milano Cortina ‌Olympics on Sunday.

Silver in the men's competition ‍went to ​Sangkyum Kim of Korea and Tervel Zamfirov of Bulgaria ⁠earned bronze in a photo finish.

For ‌the women, Sabine Payer of Austria claimed silver ⁠and Italy's ‍Lucia Dalmasso earned bronze in the women's event.

Two-time champion Ester Ledecka lost to ‍Payer in the quarter-finals. The ‌30-year-old was the first female to win gold in two different Winter Olympic sports at Pyeongchang 2018 when she prevailed in the snowboarding parallel giant slalom and the skiing Super-G.

The versatile Czech ‌athlete had to choose between the two events in Milan due to a scheduling clash, ​opting for snowboarding over the downhill races.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti in LivignoEditing by Christian Radnedge)