Snowboarding-Versatile Ledecka retains parallel giant slalom title

ZHANGJIAKOU, China :Czech Ester Ledecka extended her winning Olympic streak as she secured the gold medal in women's snowboard parallel giant slalom (PGS) at the Beijing Games on Tuesday.

Daniela Ulbing of Austria claimed the silver and Gloria Kotnik of Slovenia the bronze.

In PGS, two boarders compete against one another on parallel courses, with the athletes holding the highest seeding from qualification choosing their preferred course, red or blue.

The competition took place at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, where the athletes were blessed with clear skies and relatively warm temperatures of -9 degrees Celsius (about 15.8 Fahrenheit).

The 26-year-old Ledecka made history at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018 by becoming the first athlete in Winter Olympic history to win gold medals in both Alpine skiing and snowboarding's parallel giant slalom.

Ledecka said before Tuesday's event she considers herself a "double threat" as half snowboarder and half skier.

Ulbing's silver continued a successful season in which she has racked up two victories. She finished seventh in Pyeongchang four years ago.

(Reporting by Winni Zhou and Mari Saito; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Ed Osmond)