Sierra Nevada delivered a second medal and the top step of the podium for Ester Ledecká. The Czech rider won the parallel giant slalom world title, just days after taking silver in the parallel slalom at the same championships.
Fastest of the field by a fraction
The foundation for gold was laid early in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Ledecká, racing from bib 9, topped the qualifying timesheet against 38 athletes from 17 nations. Her combined time of 1:25.43 edged Russia's Alena Zavarzina by just 0.04 seconds.
That speed carried through the knockout rounds. The final duel details went unrecorded by official reports, but the raw pace of the day was hers from the first run.
Two medals, one season of dual purpose
The gold completed a clean sweep of the championship events. She had already secured parallel slalom silver earlier in the week, finishing second to Austria's Daniela Ulbing. At 21 years old, she left Spain with a full set from a single World Championships.
"It is a dream that is becoming a reality. It's huge," she told reporters in the Andalusian mountains. Her words captured a season that also delivered the overall parallel snowboarding World Cup crystal globe and an Alpine skiing campaign at the St. Moritz World Championships.
The title that began an eight-year pause
The 2017 crown followed her first world title at Kreischberg 2015. It would also stand as her last snowboard worlds appearance for nearly a decade, as the clash of alpine and snowboard calendars proved impossible to navigate. She later explained the absence simply: "I haven't competed in a world championships since because it was difficult with timing because of skiing events."
When she finally returned in 2025 she won the parallel giant slalom title again, becoming the first athlete to medal at two different FIS World Championships in one season. The Sierra Nevada victory sat quietly on a path from teenage world champion to an unprecedented multi-sport career.
