Vonn’s Olympic dreams dashed as Ledecka goes on fairytale run

It was a fairy tale at the women’s super-G in Pyeongchang – but not for Lindsey Vonn.

The greatest female ski racer of all time, one of the favorites for the event, finished sixth in a magnificent race won by snowboard specialist Ester Ledecka.

In one of the biggest shocks of the Games, the Czech pipped reigning champion Anna Veith of Austria to gold by 0.01 seconds.

“This must be some mistake. That they’re going to switch the time for some others,” the 22-year-old told reporters immediately after her victory.

“I am so surprised about all of it. I’m really trying to win and do a good run every time but I didn’t really realize that this really can happen.”

READ: Winter Olympics Day 8 Live

Ledecka competes in the women's super-G Saturday.

‘I really didn’t know what happened’

Ledecka will become the only athlete to ever compete in both skiing and snowboarding at an Olympics when she enters the snowboard parallel giant slalom on Thursday, February 22.

Her medal is all the more impressive considering she was the 26th skier to compete. The best – such as pre-race favorites Vonn, Switzerland’s Lara Gut and Veith – had already competed, leaving a chewed up course for those that followed.

Veith had looked set to become the first woman to defend an Olympic super-G title until Ledeka’s sensational run, clocked at one minute 21.11 seconds.

Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather, whose mother Hanni Wenzel is a former Olympic champion, took bronze.

Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu performs his free skate on his way to winning the gold medal. Hanyu is the first man to repeat as Olympic champion since Dick Button in 1952.

American figure skater Nathan Chen, coming off a disappointing short program on Friday, landed a record six quads -- five of them cleanly -- during his free skate on Saturday. He had the best free skate of the day but still finished out of the medals.

Ester Ledecka pulled off a shocking victory in the women's super-G. Ledecka, a 22-year-old from the Czech Republic, is more known for her snowboarding -- she was a world champion last year in the parallel giant slalom. But now she is an Olympic champion in skiing after winning the super-G by just 0.01 of a second. Next week, she will make history again as the first Olympic athlete to compete in both snowboarding and Alpine skiing.

American skier Lindsey Vonn reacts after her super-G run. She finished tied for sixth after slipping near the end of her run.

American Jordan Greenway gets checked by Russian Nikolai Prokhorkin during the preliminary round of play. The Olympic Athletes from Russia imposed their will in a 4-0 men's hockey win over the United States.

Great Britain's Lizzy Yarnold celebrates at the finish line in the women's skeleton event. She won the gold medal.

Stadium crew members prepare the snow at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre.

Short-track speedskater John-Henry Krueger celebrates with the American flag after winning silver in the 1,000 meters. Canada's Samuel Girard won the gold.

Ukaine's Oleksandr Abramenko jumps during the men's aerial qualifying.

Great Britain's Elise Christie, left, and China's Li Jinyu crash during a short-track semifinal for the 1,500 meters. Christie was taken off the ice on a stretcher.

Angelina Golikova, a speedskater from Russia, photobombs teammate Kseniya Sadouskaya and her coach during a practice session.

Marit Bj?rgen, top, celebrates with Ingvild Flugstad ?stberg after Norway won a cross-country relay. With the victory, Bj?rgen became the most decorated Winter Olympian ever. She now has 13 Olympic medals, tying her with Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bj?rndalen.

Italian speedskaters practice for the team pursuit race.

A spectator cheers for Norway during a men's curling match.

The women's curling team from China celebrates after a win over Japan.

The Olympic rings are reflected in a spectator's sunglasses before the start of the women's super-G.

Dominik Kubalik of the Czech Republic shoots the puck against Canada's Ben Scrivens during a preliminary round hockey game.

German figure skater Paul Fentz reacts to his free-skate score.

Canadian skier Kim Lamarre competes in the slopestyle competition.

Winter Olympics: Saturday, February 17

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Snowboard specialist Ledecka has never finished on the podium in World Cup alpine events, her best result being a seventh-placed finish in the downhill last year.

In her most recent super-G run, in Austria in January, the Czech came 24th.

Mistakes costly for Vonn

Vonn, the first to start the race, saw her dreams of a podium finish dashed early on, with Italy’s Johanna Schnarf (third to start), Switzerland’s Gut (fifth to start) and Weirather (seventh to start) outperforming her.

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Updated 9:31 AM EST, Sat February 17, 2018

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Lindsey Vonn overcomes grief to reach Olympics

01:15 - Source: CNN

Competing in her fourth Winter Games but a first for eight years, the veteran American made a costly error towards the bottom of the course and finished in 1:21.49 – 0.38 seconds behind Ledecka.

“I attacked. Unfortunately, I got a headwind in the middle section, but I attacked. I’m disappointed, but I’m not upset,” the 33-year-old told reporters.

“I came in there with pretty decent speed. I think the terrain just caught me a little bit. I thought I had the turn finished sooner than I did and I lost elevation. I’m happy that I hung on and still was able to finish the course.

“I’ve had a roller coaster the last eight years with so many injuries, but I’m here, I’m healthy. I have two more races left, so I hope those will go a little bit better.”

Vonn talking to the media after the race

Vonn, who throughout the build up to these Games has vowed to win gold in memory of her late grandfather, looked skywards after crossing the finish line.

She explained: “He (my grandfather) was supposed to help me. I was like ‘what happened, grandpa? Why did we not ski better?’

“I did the best I could. I’m happy with my performance. It might not be a medal, but I definitely gave it everything I had.”

READ: Vonn moved to tears in memory of late grandfather

READ: Vonn set for ‘full charge’ at Olympics

More delays

High winds on Saturday delayed the start of an event which had already been rescheduled from earlier in the week because of the weather.

Three of the first four races in the Alpine program were postponed this week after winds of up to 72kph wreaked havoc with the schedule.

Vonn still has a chance of winning an Olympic title at these Games, which she said were “most likely to be her last.”

“It just depends on my knee. I love ski racing. I want to keep racing forever. Unfortunately, my body is not the Terminator. I can’t take as many beatings as I used to,” she added.

“We’ll see what happens, but I would say 99% sure this is my last Olympics.”

The four-time world champion, a super-G bronze medalist in 2010, will compete again on Wednesday in the downhill and victory would make her only the third American alpine skier to win three career Olympic medals. She will also race in the combined on Friday.