Who would have bet one dime on Anja Puggl and Viktor Kulikov before the finals of the snowboard parallel giant slalom? Except their best friends or their family members, no one. But this (wo)man to (wo)man race is a very special event because the proximity of your opponent can be stressful. The sun was shining in the sky of Maoershan to celebrate the two gold medals of those two underdogs.
The slope was well prepared but if even if it was considered as a technically difficult course the icy snow has made the life of the riders quite difficult. Just ask Polish Karolina Sztokfisz: she was more than impressive and before the semi- finals she was really considered as the big favorite of the contest. She finished 15th in the last World Championship in Gangwon. However, a mistake led her to disqualification but her consolation lot was the victory in the next races for the bronze medal. The Japanese Shohko Myatake benefited from the Polish mistake to go the final and the silver she gained was her best ever international result. This was also the case for the 22 years Austrian Anja Puggl who won very easily the gold: besides a few podiums in Europa Cup it was her best international achievement.
Who knew Viktor Kulikov before the final of the men’s event? No one and neither the silver medallist, the Austrian Andreas Lausegger (winner of the cross) nor the bronze medallist the German Alex Deubl had counted him as a potential contender for the quest of gold. In any case, the Russian has shown a very strong character and a perfect control of his nerves during the second leg of the final during which he could overcome a gap of 13 hundreds of second to win with a comfortable margin.
Women’s Podium
Men’s Podium
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