Benjamin Karl, 38, etched a new line in the Olympic record book Saturday on the Mottolino slope, becoming the first male snowboarder to own three medals by defending his parallel giant-slalom title at Milano-Cortina 2026.
Karl Edges Korean Rookie by 0.19 Seconds in Big Final
Seeded only third after morning qualification, the Austrian veteran threaded a flawless lower lane to beat Korea’s Kim Sang-kyum and upgrade the Vancouver 2010 silver and Sochi 2014 bronze now stored in his Innsbruck basement. The winning margin—little more than a snowboard length—capped a knockout slate in which Karl survived an even tighter scare, slipping past Italy’s Maurizio Bormolini by three hundredths in the round-of-16 after both riders clipped the same gate. He then dispatched teammate Andreas Prommegger by 0.12 in the quarters and Beijing 2022 runner-up Tim Mastnak by 0.24 in the semis, using a lower-line strategy that kept average edge angles a full two degrees tighter than his rivals, according to Austrian team data.
Photo Finish Hands Bulgaria First Snowboard Medal Ever
While Karl celebrated, the bronze match produced the day’s tightest drama. Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov and Mastnak crossed the line with identical times to the hundredth; high-speed finish-line frames revealed Zamfirov’s left boot a few pixels ahead, enough to award the 29-year-old Sofia native his country’s first Olympic snowboard hardware of any color. The decision denied Slovenia a second consecutive men’s PGS silver and triggered a roar from a small Bulgarian fan section wedged beside the finish corral, waving a flag that rarely appears on Alpine snow.
Ledecka Crashes Gate, Opens Door for Czech First-Timer
Ester Ledecka’s bid for an unprecedented third straight Olympic title ended abruptly in the quarter-finals when the Czech star clipped the third gate and trailed Austria’s Sabine Payer by 0.06, a deficit no rider has overturned on the Mottolino gradient since the course was re-graded in 2023. The upset cleared the path for 24-year-old Zuzana Maderova, a teammate who had never stood atop a World Cup podium and entered the Games seeded second largely on consistency rather than victories. Maderova dispatched Germany’s Cheyenne Loch by 0.36, advanced when Ramona Hofmeister washed out, and beat Italy’s Elisa Caffont by 0.45 in the semi, keeping her board flat through the flattrack where others scrubbed speed.
Maderova Wins by 0.83 Seconds, Largest Women’s Margin Since 2014
In the women’s Big Final, Maderova rocketed from the red-course start and, despite a mid-section wobble that sprayed snow into the safety netting, finished 0.83 seconds ahead of Payer—an eternity in parallel racing and the widest women’s victory margin since Austria’s Julia Dujmovits at Sochi. Italy’s Lucia Dalmasso snatched bronze by 0.11 over Caffont, igniting cowbells from the home crowd that could be heard inside the Livigno gondola station 500 m away. Maderova’s previous best on the World Cup circuit had been two third-place finishes this winter; she will now fly home with a gold that catapults her into national-sports-hero territory.
Classic Rock Routine Keeps Karl Calm at Minus 14 Celsius
“I already owned every color, so pressure stayed outside my bubble,” Karl told reporters while wrapping himself in an Austrian flag once worn by downhill legend Hermann Maier. Coaches revealed that the 38-year-old spent race morning blasting classic rock through oversized headphones instead of poring over split times, a ritual he credits for steady nerves while the thermometer read –14 °C and the hard-pack surface punished the smallest skid. Asked whether he will chase a fourth medal at the 2030 Games, Karl laughed, peeled off his race suit to salute the grandstand, and replied, “Right now I just want to feel my toes again.”
Recommended Resources
- FIS Snowboard Hub – Live timing sheets, athlete bios and World Cup standings for parallel events
- Snowboard Austria – Technique videos and training-camp calendar used by Karl and teammates
- “Race Like a Pro” course analysis – Free breakdown of Livigno’s Mottolino slope angles and gate spacing
- Olympic Channel Replay Library – Full Milano-Cortina 2026 parallel finals available on demand
- World Snowboard Tour – Global competition pathway explaining how riders qualify for future Olympics
Source: Original race reporting, Milano-Cortina 2026 press room
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