LIVIGNO - The Czech team celebrates its first gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Snowboarder Zuzana Maděrová triumphed in the parallel giant slalom and secured the first ever Czech Olympic victory at these Games. She made the final run on the technically demanding course in Livigno, beating the Austrian representative Sabine Payer.
Maděrová entered the race very confidently already in the qualification, in which she was one of the fastest drivers. In the subsequent elimination heats she gradually beat her rivals from Germany, Switzerland and Italy and confirmed her role as one of the favourites of the competition. In the final, she showed a precise and dynamic ride, during which she developed a decisive lead at the top of the course.
„It was my dream and I still can't believe it. The conditions weren't easy, but I felt great and tried to go all out,“ said Maderova after the race. She described winning the gold as a reward for the long years of hard preparation and the support of the implementation team.
The success of the Czech snowboarder has a significant symbolic meaning for the whole expedition. After the opening days of the Games, which did not bring the Czech Republic any medal joy, the expected encouragement came. The women's parallel giant slalom thus put Zuzana Maděrová among the most prominent figures of the Winter Olympics so far and opened the way for the Czech team to further ambitions in the following competitions.
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