Ledecka crowned in women's parallel giant slalom at Pyeongchang Olympics

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic won the snowboard women's parallel giant slalom Saturday in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park.

Ledecka beat Selina Joerg of Germany in the two-run big final to claim the victory, while Ramona Hofmeister of Germany got the bronze.

Ledecka said: "Fantastic, really, it was a great day. I enjoyed every run and I' m very happy to be here and stand on the highest place."

Ledecka became the first woman to win gold in two sports at a single Winter Olympics, as she had already won the skiing super-G last Saturday.

"I don't know, as long as I have fun with both I will probably do both and we'll see what happens. It was quite long because I was here from the start because the skiing was the first and I went GS and super-G and I switched to snowboard," Ledecka added.

Chinese skier Zang Ruxin and Gong Naiying settled for the 22nd and 26th place respectively, while Xu Xiaoxiao didn't finish her ride in the qualification run.

"I think we are still lack of experience. For the top player, they competed for around 200 or 300 international competitions. I only added up to 40 times since I started my professional training," said Gong, who already set her eyes on the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

"I felt happy that I got the chance to compete in my first Olympics, and I already set a goal for the next one. I hope I can stand on the podium in Beijing," Gong added.

Ledecka, the first athlete to compete in snowboard and Alpine skiing at Winter Olympics, became the second medallist in snowboard for Czech Republic, as Eva Samkova won gold in 2014 and bronze in 2018 at the women's snowboard cross.