Double Olympic gold winner Ester Ledecka to miss snowboard World Champs and focus on Alpine Ski championships
With the two competitions overlapping, the 23-year-old Czech has chosen to focus on Downhill, Super G, and Combined ski events.
Snowboard
Ester Ledecka stunned the world at PyeongChang 2018 by clinching gold medals in both the ski and snowboard events.
In doing so the Czech became the first woman to be crowned Olympic champion in two different sports in a single Winter Games.
But she won't be able to repeat the feat this year at both world championships.
Ledecka has chosen to miss the snowboard competition due to a partial schedule clash.
The snowboard Parallel giant slalom final is scheduled on 4 February in Park City, USA, while the Super-G ski event is taking place the following day in Are, Sweden.
Ledecka tried to persuade the International Ski Federation to shift, but to no avail.
"I was a little bit hoping they would reschedule the snowboard race -put it a week earlier so I could do both- but they didn't. So I have to choose." the Czech said to the Associated Press in December after finishing 29th in a World Cup Downhill event in Italy. “It’s their decision, and I have to respect it."
On one side I see their point. For one athlete why should they do that, right? But from the other side I think I made snowboarding a little more popular, and I think a lot of fans would be happy to see me compete in both. - Ledecka
Decision taken
Ledecka's agent has now confirmed to Olympic Channel that the 23-year-old will focus on skiing.
"There is no point jumping back and forth", her skiing coach Tomas Bank had previously told Radiozurnal.
By choosing to compete in the downhill, Super G, and combined events at the ski champs, the reigning world champion in Parallel GS will be giving up her snowboarding crown.
2018: The best year of her career
After her historic achievement in Korea, the "Queen of snow" has been included in the lists of dominant sportspeople of the year.
Ledecka was named Sportperson of the Year in the Czech Republic, an award given by the Sport Journalists' Club, won in previous years by other Olympic medallists like Petra Kvitova, Gabriela Koukalova or Lukas Krpalek.
She was nominated by the BBC to the World Sport Star of the Year award and was in the top-10 of the best European athletes of the year at the annual poll held by Poland's PAP news agency among journalists from agencies across the continent.
The "Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive" (AIPS) chose her as one of the athletes of the year, just behind Simone Biles.
Ledecka has stamped her name on two sports, and in Italy they have even named cabins after her in the Italian ski station of Carezza.
2019 Season
The ski and snowboard seasons are well underway and Ledecka has been participating in as many events as the calendar allows.
She's been doubling up on the Women's skiing World Cup circuit, and in Parallel Giant Slalom World Cup Snowboarding events.
Her best result in ski has been a 10th place in Downhill, while in snowboard Ledecka finished first in the World Cup held in Italy in middle of December.
The Czech queen of snow has been intent on keeping her dual challenge alive, but her fans will hope the world championship dilemma isn't one she'll face again in future.