Celebrations? No way. Better to quickly go to bed, and the next day again on the slope. Just change the sports equipment. Ester Ledecká will go to the second defense of Olympic gold in a dangerously short time. After a phenomenal performance on a snowboard, she is waiting for a ski super-G at the Beijing Games.
Beijing (from our correspondent) – After Tuesday’s triumph, the Czech amphibian had to cope with a demanding round of duties and a lightning move from the snowboard to the ski area.
Nothing easy, but Ledecká managed everything and is ready to try on Friday at the rock ski slope for another sporting miracle.
In the super-G, unlike the parallel slalom on the board, he will not be among the main favorites. But it can surprise. And, of course, he does.
“It will be fun, it will be a ride. I will do everything possible to show how I have worked on skis in the last four years, ” she reported on Tuesday, a few tens of minutes after winning her third Olympic gold.
The subsequent action” ball lightning ” was described by the physiotherapist of the Czech superstar Michal lešák.
“Officialisms, interviews, press conference, doping control, medal ceremony. Then we packed up all our things and moved with ester to the ski village. We helped her get her things into her new room and sent her to bed as soon as possible.”
They didn’t do Ledecka on Wednesday. They let her sleep as long as she needed. Rehabilitation and warm-up followed, so she set off for her first ski training in the jenqing area only in the afternoon.
And surprised again. On skis, she practically immediately showed herself very promising. “It went well beyond expectations,” leszak confirmed.
Ledecká, however, had to be careful. On a snowboard, only certain muscle groups are overloaded unilaterally, they had to relax and stretch for a long time. On the contrary, it was necessary to activate the ” ski ” ones, weakened at this moment.
Coach Ledecky: it’s a problem, but not so big
On the slope, she rode freely, took a picture of the track and got used to the higher speed that she would develop on skis. She continued her rehabilitation, taking care of her rest. The plan was for him to go to the gates on Thursday.
Time is extremely short. Ledecká didn’t complain. “I believe I can switch quickly. I’m glad I can race at all. Also it could be one day and I would miss one of the races.”
Her experienced Italian ski coach Franz Gamper had no doubt that Ledecká could make the switch.
“It’s a problem, but not so big. Ester’s done that a lot, she’s a quick refocus. He handles it easily, ” he said admiringly.
The rock ski slope was described by Gamper as nice and at the same time quite challenging. It narrows the circle of favorites, but ledecké could sit.
“He can win maybe 10 girls at most. That’s all. When the piste is easy, even the ones that don’t ride perfectly can win. But here it is not so, ” explained the former coach of the legends, Nora Aksel Lund Svindal or the Italian Deborah Compagnoni.
However, he did not reveal whether he included a 26-year-old Czech skier among the medal candidates.
Ski terribly grown up, Mije Pešánová
Either way, Olympic races tend to be specific. “They have a special charm, it often happens that on them the great favorites of the mountain range. It’s open, that’s what the Olympics are beautiful about, ” she said in a recent interview for Aktuálně.cz former skier and participant of three Olympic Games Lucie pešánová hrstková.
“Right now Ester is the type of racer with a strong head. For the Olympics, he can tweak the form, ” she added.
When Ledecka herself mentions the hard work she has done since her shocking triumph in Pyeongchang on skis, Peshanova hrstková has to agree.
“She’s grown so much. He spends a lot more time on it, and you can tell. Personally, I think snowboarding is still holding her back from getting better and better. If she’d just focused on skiing, she’d be on the podium a lot, I’m convinced of that. But it’s her business. Either she will come to that decision one day, or she will still be an amphibian, which is something that is very special, ” said Pešánová hrstková a week before the start of the games.
The Olympic super-giant slalom of female skiers is on the agenda in yenqing from 4 a.m. CET. Ledecká will start downhill soon with the starting number 2.
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