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The Inertia

The Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka is obviously an insane athlete. An Olympian in parallel giant slalom snowboard racing (where she has won two world titles and competes in this Olympics on Thursday) and a member of the Czech Republic’s alpine ski team, she became the first person to qualify in two disciplines at one Olympics. But her story goes way beyond gimmick.

Lindsey Vonn was having an incredible run, even with the disadvantage of being the first racer on the course. But a slight mistake near the bottom cost her the race. Ledecka was the last to go. And won by the slimmest of margins: she beat Austria’s Anna Veith by .001 in a race the Czech media is calling “The Miracle on Snow,” a play off the American hockey team’s 1980 Olympic triumph dubbed “The Miracle on Ice.”

“All I can say is I wish I had as much athleticism as she does to be able to win at two sports in the same Olympics, because I’m only good at one sport, and that’s ski racing,” said Vonn. “So the fact that she’s able to beat all of us and be a snowboarder is pretty darn impressive. At the Olympics, a lot of weird stuff happens.”

The 22-year-old Ledecka was as surprised as anyone by her massive upset, asking a cameraman at the bottom, “how did that happen?”

 
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