PYEONGCHANG, South Korea: Czech sensation Ester Ledecka overcame suffocating pressure and inner demons to complete a historic Olympic ski-snowboard double, her coach has revealed.
The 22-year-old dominated Saturday’s snowboard giant parallel slalom — a week after stunning the world of alpine skiing with victory in the super-G — establishing herself as the athlete of the Pyeongchang Games.
Ledecka’s parents and coaches had been concerned about the intense hype surrounding her bid to become the first woman to capture gold in different sports at the same Winter Games.
“The amount of pressure that was on her was incredible,” said snowboarding coach Justin Reiter.
“People are people and Ester has her own internal strife. We worked really closely with our team and her parents to manage it as best we can and help her.
“She was protected from the media all this time,” added the American. “While the super-G gold was amazing, of course it was unexpected — she came here with the goal to medal in snowboarding.
“If she chose to just absorb all the energy from the super-G medal and kind of check off the Olympic medal, we’d be having a different conversation today. But because of who Ester is and because of the way she functions, that’s not enough.”
Reiter paid tribute to Ledecka’s work ethic in balancing two sports, while admitting it is hard to pull the adrenalin junkie away from the slopes.
“The number one thing I wanted to do with Ester was to empower her to make choices so that she can become a true champion,” said Reiter.
“She displayed that this season by prioritising her health over her training. In the past she was always train, train, train, train, train and really didn’t rest enough.
“This year we managed everything as perfectly as can be and she’s going home with two gold medals in her pocket.”
Describing Ledecka as a “once-in-a-lifetime” athlete, Reiter insisted there would be no pressure on the snowboarder to increase the events she skis in as a result of her Olympic success.
“If she wants to ski more, I’m fine with that,” he said. “If she wants to snowboard more, I’m fine with that. This is Ester’s career.
“We’ve gotten into this idea of sports specialization at a young age, but sport is not intended to be a business investment.
“We’ve turned it into that and yes it’s about money, but ideally it should be about fun and that’s what makes Ester unique — no matter how hard she works, she loves the work.”
Ester Ledecka battled ‘internal strife’ in Olympic fairytale: Coach
Ester Ledecka battled ‘internal strife’ in Olympic fairytale: Coach
Newcastle pounce on PSV errors to boost Champions League last-16 bid
- Victory for the Magpies was soured by an ankle injury to captain Bruno Guimaraes
- PSV are romping toward another Eredivisie title with a 16-point lead at the top of the table
NEWCASTLE: Newcastle climbed into position to reach the Champions League last 16 by punishing PSV Eindhoven’s defensive blunders for a 3-0 win at St. James’ Park on Wednesday.
Yoane Wissa, on his first Champions League start, and Anthony Gordon struck inside the opening half an hour after the Dutch champions played themselves into trouble.
Harvey Barnes rounded off the scoring for his fifth goal in as many games just after the hour mark.
“I thought it was one of our best individual performances from a lot of the players for a while,” said Newcastle boss Eddie Howe.
Victory for the Magpies was soured by an ankle injury to captain Bruno Guimaraes that forced the Brazilian off just before half-time.
Guimaraes could be a big miss for when Howe’s men make the daunting trip to Paris Saint-Germain next week in the final round of league phase fixtures, hoping to secure a top-eight finish.
Newcastle sit in the top eight only on goal difference and will likely need to beat the holders on home soil to avoid the play-off round.
Wissa rewarded Howe’s faith for starting him ahead of Nick Woltemade up front with a goal and an assist on what the DR Congo international described as a “special night.”
Signed from Brentford in September, Wissa spent the majority of his career in the lower tiers of French and English football.
“Honestly, unbelievable. That’s why I joined the club... I almost cried,” said Wissa on hearing the Champions League anthem for the first time on the pitch.
“Very emotional. 29 years old, I never believed to be here and so now I’m enjoying every single minute.”
Wissa swept in his first goal in European competition from Joelinton’s pass after a poor clearance by PSV goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
PSV are romping toward another Eredivisie title with a 16-point lead at the top of the table.
Peter Bosz’s men won 4-1 away at Liverpool and hit Napoli for six earlier in the league phase, but are still at risk of missing out on a place in the top 24, which would secure progress to the play-off round.
The visitors were architects of their own downfall again for the second when Yarek Gasiorowski’s underhit backpass allowed Wissa to square for Gordon to roll into an empty net.
The England international now has six goals in the Champions League this season, behind only Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane in the battle to be the competition’s top goalscorer.
However, a fine half for the home side ended badly when Guimaraes needed lengthy treatment after colliding with Kovar at a corner and was eventually replaced.
Howe’s options in midfield and defense were already depleted by a lengthy injury list amid a gruelling schedule with Newcastle still alive in four competitions.
However, up front he is spoiled for choice with Barnes in fine form since the turn of the year.
The 28-year-old burst through the static PSV defense to fire in his 12th goal of the season 25 minutes from time.
Saudi-backed Newcastle are one of five Premier League teams among the top eight as it stands as the English sides flex their financial muscle in Europe’s elite competition.
But they will have to finish the job against another of the continent’s wealthiest clubs when they travel to Qatari-owned PSG, aiming to deny the holders direct qualification for the last 16.
