Prague, January 31, 2026 – The Europe Today: With the Winter Olympics in Milan drawing closer, attention is turning to Czechia’s leading medal contenders, foremost among them three-time Olympic champion Ester Ledecká, widely regarded as one of the country’s greatest-ever winter sports athletes.
At just 30 years of age, Ledecká has already secured her place as a Czech sporting icon. She first captured global attention at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, where, aged only 22, she delivered one of the most remarkable moments in Olympic history by winning a surprise gold medal in the Super-G alpine skiing event. Her stunned reaction at the finish line became an enduring image of the Games.
Only days later, Ledecká went on to claim a second gold medal—this time in snowboarding—making history as the first and only woman to win Olympic gold medals in two different sports at the same Winter Olympics.
She further cemented her legendary status at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing by successfully defending her title in the parallel giant slalom. Notably, she was the only Czech athlete to win an Olympic gold medal at those Games.
Since then, Ledecká has continued to demonstrate her rare ability to compete at the highest level in both alpine skiing and snowboarding, earning her the nickname “the amphibian” and reinforcing expectations that she will once again be a central figure in Czechia’s Olympic ambitions in Milan.
