Dec 6, 2019; Lake Louise, Alberta, CAN; Ester Ledecka of Czech Republic during interview after her run during the women’s downhill race for the the Lake Louise FIS Women’s Alpine Skiing World Cup at Lake Louise Ski Resort. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
(Reuters) – It was almost a case of deja vu at the women’s World Cup downhill in Alberta on Friday as Czech skier Ester Ledecka claimed an upset win from a non-seeded starting position.
Ledecka famously won the super-G at the 2018 Olympics from the same starting slot in South Korea, long after American broadcaster NBC had declared Austrian Anna Veith the winner and moved onto other events.
NBC was forced to issue a mea culpa then, but avoided a similar faux pas on Friday.
“No race is over until Ester Ledecka comes down,” the commentator said joking as Ledecka left the starting gate amid light falling snow at Lake Louise.
Skiing fearlessly in the poor visibility, Ledecka flashed down the mountain for her first downhill victory.
She clocked one minute 31.87 seconds, pipping Swiss Corrine Suter by 0.35 seconds.
Ledecka, 24, joked that her victory was again a surprise.
“I was a little bit thinking it was some mistake, but it’s OK, I’m maybe getting used to it,” she said according to Canadian network TSN.
As well as the super-G in Pyeongchang, Ledecka won the parallel giant slalom snowboard event to become the first skier to capture gold in skiing and snowboarding at the same Olympics.
Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Ken Ferris