Ester
Ledecka
Czech Republic
·
Alpine Skiing
Date of birth | March 23, 1995 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Prague |
Age | 30 |
Nationality | Czech Republic |
Career start | 2010 |
Disciplines | Snowboard Alpine / Alpine Skiing Combined / Alpine Skiing Downhill / Alpine Skiing Giantslalom / Alpine Skiing Super G |
Czech ski and snowboard star Ester Ledecká is a truly multi-talented alpine athlete. Born in Prague in 1995, she was learning to ski in Špindlerův Mlýn at the age of two and was given her first snowboard at five. As a teenager, her coaches apparently encouraged her to focus on one thing or the other, but it was her dream to excel at both – and no one can deny that she's acheived that dream.
Ester's career began in earnest back in 2010 when she competed in her first FIS races, while also racing in the European Cup on her snowboard. She raced in her first snowboard World Cup in December of 2012, but it wasn't until 2016 that she first took part in the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup. Despite a double load of competition, the 2016/17 season saw her inching towards the world-class alpine skiing performances that she was aiming for.
One of Ester's biggest successes came in 2018 when she scooped a shock ski super-G gold at the Winter Games, despite having come into the competition ranked 49th in the world. She then kept her nerve to follow that up with victory in the snowboard parallel giant slalom and become the first person to win gold on both skis and snowboard. Only Russia's Anfisa Reztsova had ever won gold in two different sports previously – in biathlon and cross-country skiing – and even then, not at the same games.
The following year she also became the first athlete ever to win World Cup snowboarding and alpine skiing events, when she won the downhill event at the Lake Louise FIS World Cup stop.
More success followed in the coming seasons and in 2022, Ester added another medal to her collection when she claimed gold at the Winter Games in the snowboard parallel giant slalom event.
An injury at the end of 2022 saw Ester sidelined for a number of months. Still, she returned in style as she claimed victory in just her second event in 2023, claiming gold in the snowboard parallel slalom at the World Cup in Berchtesgaden, Germany.
In 2024, Ester proved she was back to full strength by adding four more World Cup victories to her record. The versatile snowboarder and skier won gold in Parallel Slalom, Super G and Parallel Giant Slalom.
Ester turned her impressive training performance into a bronze medal in the downhill event at the 2025 FIS Skiing World Championships. "In snowboarding, I already had two (world championship) gold medals and one silver, so now the collection is complete with bronze from Downhill skiing. I need to work on my snowboard skills right now as well, because the World Championships on snowboard is coming."
Showing no signs of slowing down, we're certain there will be many more victories and podiums both on skis and her snowboard.