BEAVER CREEK, Colo. -- As the situation stands, snowboarder/ski racer Ester Ledecka has two Olympic races on the same day in 2026, at nearly the same time and in Italian mountain towns hours apart. The Czech Republic standout simply can’t make both starting gates. So she may have a big decision to make on Feb. 8, 2026 — race in the women's downhill at the Milan-Cortina Games or go for a three-peat in snowboarding’s parallel giant slalom. Unless, of course, her lobbying efforts pay off. Ledecka said she's going through her country's Olympic committee to reach out and see if one of the events can be switched. The Winter Games schedule was just recently released. “It’s like someone has broken your dream,” the 29-year-old Ledecka said after a training run in Beaver Creek as she prepares for a World Cup downhill and super-G this weekend. “So please change it. Please, please, please. It’s my biggest dream to do both. I can create a great show for people.” Ledecka is the rare athlete to do both winter sports at such a gold medal-winning level. Nearly seven years ago, Ledecka was a surprise winner in the super-G at the Pyeongchang Games — from bib No. 26, no less. A week later, she captured gold in the parallel GS (PGS). At the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, she defended her PGS crown along with finishing fifth in the super-G, 27th in the downhill and fourth in the Alpine combined. To amend an Olympic schedule would not be unprecedented. Before the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, the International Olympic Committee and the governing body for track and field accommodated a request from Allyson Felix to go for a 200-400 double. She earned a silver in the 400. In 1996, the schedule was shifted so American sprinter Michael Johnson could run in the 200 and 400 at the Atlanta Games. He won gold in both. “I would appreciate it,” said Ledecka, who started skiing at 2 years old and snowboarding three years later. “They’re fighting (for it) right now.” The current schedule has snowboarding parallel giant slalom holding a qualifying round from 9 a.m. to 11 on Feb. 8 in Livigno, Italy. The final is set for 1 p.m. Meanwhile, the women's downhill is set to take place in Cortina at 11:30 a.m. It's about a 4-hour drive between the two events. For now, she's leaning toward snowboarding. Only because a few days later she could ski race in a super-G. “I was quite sad about that fact,” Ledecka said of the conflict between events. "We'll see. It’s still quite far away.” Ledecka has 88 World Cup starts in skiing, with 10 podium finishes and four wins. She has 63 World Cup starts in snowboarding, featuring 39 podium finishes and 25 wins. “I don’t know how she does it,” said American ski racer Jacqueline Wiles, who dabbled in snowboarding as a kid. “It’s absolutely insane.” Ledecka enjoys both sports for different reasons. In skiing, it's for the speed. For snowboarding, it's the execution of a turn. It's not always easy splitting her time between the two sports, fitting in training around events. She won a PGS race on Nov. 30 in China before arriving in Beaver Creek. After this, it's off to St. Moritz, Switzerland, for more ski racing. She's currently traveling with eight snowboards and 20 pairs of skis. “You cannot believe how stacked the ski room is right now,” Ledecka cracked. “I really admire my tech guy and how he's handling it all. I’m very happy to have my team help me do this, my dream, of going from the snowboard World Cup to the ski World Cup. I'm having a lot of fun.” Notes: Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland had the fastest time in the second training run Thursday. Italians racers Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone were both within a second. ... Lindsey Vonn is not expected to forerun before the third and final training session Friday. The 40-year-old Vonn still plans on testing out the course before this weekend's races on the Birds of Prey course. ___ AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Australian sailor Matt Wearn will ponder his Olympic future during a 12-month spell from his dual gold-medal winning class. Wearn was Australia’s joint flag bearer at the closing ceremony of this year’s Paris Games after becoming the first man to successfully defend an Olympic dinghy title. But the 29-year-old is taking time away from the dinghy while deciding if he has motivation to return to the class for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Wearn will pursue professional opportunities and other aspects of the sport in a plan supported by his coach Rafa Trujillo. “Rafa and I discussed the plan before the (Paris) Games as we felt it was critical to the lead-in,” Wearn said. “We decided it was important to take at least 12 months away from the ILCA (dinghy). “This time will allow me to explore different aspects of sailing, delve into the professional side of the sport and figure out if the drive and hunger for LA are still there.” Wearn’s Paris Olympic triumph in the dinghy, previously known as the laser class, followed recovery from a bad bout of long COVID-19 two years ago. The illness was combined with the shorter three-year turnaround between his gold medal win at the Tokyo Olympics of 2021 and the Paris Games. “With everything compressed into the three years between Tokyo and Paris, I haven’t had proper time off in a while,” he said. “It has been tough but having a holiday with my wife Emma and just stepping away to let everything sink in has been super nice. “At times it still hits me, especially when people introduce me at events now as a two-time Olympic gold medallist. “It sort of gives me goosebumps and makes me realise what I’ve achieved.” Wearn, who recently was inducted into the Australian sailing Hall of Fame and also nominated for the world sailor of the year, will dabble with other sailing disciplines. “I’m getting into foiling ... and continuing to get out on the wing foil, I can stay out for half an hour or three hours, that’s the nice bit at the moment, just enjoying it and learning something new,” he said. “Obviously, coming from the ILCA I don’t have too much exposure to foiling and that’s the way the sport is going. It has been that steep learning curve and I’m enjoying that challenge. “I’m also teaming up with John Bertrand for the Etchell Worlds in January (in Melbourne) which could be a stepping stone into professional sailing overseas such as TP52 or RC44 racing. “Enjoying being a normal person over the Christmas period with family, not having a jet off to events. “(I am) going to take it easy and enjoy being at home for once in summer, which will be a refreshing change from the usual hectic schedule.”Patriots' coaches enter bye week confident Drake Maye can be a franchise quarterbackNone
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