OT Olympics: Stunning Upset in Super G
It's a result so shocking that the winning racer didn't even believe she had won, and NBC wasn't even bothering to broadcast: Czech snowboarder (you read that right) Ester Ledecka, noteworthy for being a pioneer in crossing over from snowboarding into Alpine skiing, shocked the skiing world by winning the women's Super G today.
You'd be shocked, too.
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 17, 2018
Ester Ledecka, a world champion SNOWBOARDER, shocks the field to win a surprise-gold by 0.01 in alpine skiing women's super-G! #WinterOlympics https://t.co/YtEpNzDMDu pic.twitter.com/EeoHuALcKX
Ledecka has shown some speed in the alpine season this year (yes, I am actually crazy enough to watch World Cup skiing on a regular basis, give me a break I live in Duluth) but this is totally unexpected. She was, by her own testimony, certain that there was a mistake, and she had beaten a field of great performances (including Lindsey Vonn, who lost due to a mistake late in an otherwise great run, and favorites like Lara Gut and Tina Weirather). Her gaping expression is, in its own way, one of the great gold medal reactions of all time.
NBC had already anointed Anna Veith (a good comeback story in her own right) as the gold medal winner, repeating her performance from Sochi, and cut away to figure skating. They're getting roasted for this but it's pretty standard practice in downhill and super G to pencil in the winner before everyone has raced; the best racers all race in the first 20 spots, both for dramatic purposes and to avoid the inevitable breakdown in the course as racer after racer chews it up. The last 25 or so racers are people that finish seconds after everyone else. Late-race surprises will happen every couple of years, but not frequently.
Kinda makes this all the more fun. Both Super Gs at the Olympics have been terrific.
February 17th, 2018 at 12:42 PM ^
she won using borrowed skis. yep. mikaela shiffrin's skis. incredible.
February 17th, 2018 at 3:00 AM ^
Snowboarders > Skiers.
February 17th, 2018 at 9:15 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 9:50 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 1:16 PM ^
it's more like a pitcher hitting a walk off homer to win the world series. not just any random pitcher hitting any random homer.
February 17th, 2018 at 10:45 AM ^
Meh... she was a champion skiier before she was a snowboarder. She just found olympic success earlier as a snowboarder. Interpret that as you will.
I think the only think this settles is that Ester Ledecka is a certified badass.
February 17th, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
If she beat the men I would say she is.
February 17th, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that she could beat any man in a combined Alpine/Snowboard GS competition.
February 17th, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^
Post the results when she does.
Come west to Utah this winter and enjoy the best snow on earth.
February 18th, 2018 at 1:20 AM ^
February 18th, 2018 at 1:04 PM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 3:30 AM ^
Can someone explain the difference between Super G and Giant Slalom?
February 17th, 2018 at 3:41 AM ^
I have never skied in my life, but it seems the Giant Slalom has much more slaloming in it.
February 17th, 2018 at 3:56 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 7:59 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 9:21 AM ^
Additionally, GS is a two run event while Super-G is, like the downhill, just one run.
February 17th, 2018 at 3:55 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 6:40 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 10:30 AM ^
I think the "more advance skills" include:
- How to plop down on your ass 10 feet from the lift, 6 abreast, and have a little boarder pow wow while remaining completely oblivious to the bottleneck you're causing.
- Doing the same thing right in the middle of a run, usually in a blind spot below a jump.
February 17th, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 11:22 AM ^
That was the one I was gonna go with. Sure, just go ahead and scrape all the snow off the top ten feet of the hill so that everyone else has a nice icy rocket start. And while you're at it, leave some surprise patches somewhere partway down, preferably near the trees on the sides.
February 17th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
As a lifelong, diehard skier, I must admit...Snowboarding requires WAY more skill. It requires a special athlete to chug 6 beers and smoke a bong on the way to their Olympic event and then win a gold...
February 17th, 2018 at 10:09 AM ^
At the everyman level (mine) I disagree. I spent many years skiing (at a high-mediocre level or a 6/7 on the 1-9 scale instructors use) before switching to snowboarding. The first couple of outings were painful, but I quickly got to a point where I could comfortably take hills that would have been dangerous for me on skis.
I think snowboarding is easier. That's partly why I do it. :)
February 17th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
Ignorant comment. More skills involved my ass. The only reason snowboarding has "more skills involved" is because they had to add tricks and flips to the sport in order not to make snowboarding an event where any potheaded fool could make it down the hill.
Ledecka is not a snowboarder who decided to strap on a pair of skis. She's until now a relatively unsuccessful skier who crossed over to snowboarding in order to compete at the Olympics in Sochi. So your stupid analogy is actually backwards.
February 17th, 2018 at 4:00 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 3:28 PM ^
Great points, indeed. And as color analyst Todd Richards points out from time to time, "maintaining the line" within the pipe is also a key aspect of the judging. White's line on his gold medal run was nearly flawless. He most definitely deserved to win. Will be interesting to see if he returns to Beijing in 4 years. He's already a solid decade older than many of his fellow competitors. I am fascinated by the limitless drive of legends like White to be the best in their chosen fields.
February 17th, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^
Those Russian female figure skaters are so much better than everyone else, it's ridiculous. Every other female skater looks like they are skating on sand compared to them.
I'm not a huge figure skating guy, but those two are absolutely must watch TV.
February 17th, 2018 at 11:33 PM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 10:53 AM ^
But he didn’t.
February 17th, 2018 at 6:21 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 12:11 PM ^
That part of the story seems most surreal to me. I mean, this is the Olympics, not some NASTAR coarse where you can pay $10 to drop in after lunch. She didn't say "SCREW IT... Let me give this GS thing a try... Put me on the list!... Anyone have some skis they aren't using?" She had to qualify just like everyone else, and you don't ski at that level on a pair of rentals or loaners. The margins are fractions of a second, where little details like the right composition of wax make the difference between the podium and last place. So she definitely had her own skis and a qualified tech. New skis always take some getting used to... why experiment with some demos during a medal round? It just doesn't compute. There has to be more to this story.
February 17th, 2018 at 2:32 PM ^
Not much more to the story....just that the reports were wrong. She had her own skis.
February 17th, 2018 at 5:26 PM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 6:42 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 7:04 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 7:35 AM ^
I turned on NBCSN about half way through her run. That was very cool to see! The expression on her face was legit - she thought it was a mistake. It took her several minutes of convincing before she realized what was really happening.
This is why you never half-ass things.
February 17th, 2018 at 7:53 AM ^
for that last sentence alone!
February 17th, 2018 at 7:39 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 10:20 AM ^
As below, I think you meant Norway.... and I have to say NBC's coverage of that was kind of pissing me off. Like they designated the Norwegian skiers Your Official Heroes. Then they would miss someone's run so they could put the camera on a Norwegian who was watching the run we were missing.
February 17th, 2018 at 10:41 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 12:58 PM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 9:06 AM ^
I think you meant to say Norway. The Netherlands dominates speed skating.
February 17th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^
February 17th, 2018 at 10:27 AM ^