SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria — Ester Ledecka has long dazzled audiences with her athletic prowess, claiming gold medals in both snowboarding and Alpine skiing at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Now, the exceptionally talented Czech athlete is eyeing a potential new sport: windsurfing, which she has enjoyed since childhood.
Recently participating in the Defi Wind competition held in France, Ledecka may set her sights on qualifying for the windsurfing events at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Currently, she views her involvement in the sport as more of a leisure pursuit. “Right now it’s more of a hobby,” she mentioned, acknowledging the global nature of windsurfing qualifying events that span all seasons. “I am quite busy in the winter…But yeah, why not?” she added, hinting at her readiness to embrace new challenges.
In the iQFOiL windsurfing class, Olympic competitors soar above the water, achieving speeds exceeding 20 knots (37 kph or 23 mph) on specially designed boards lifted by foils during races that last around ten minutes. Ledecka particularly relishes slaloming on the water, viewing it as an excellent summer training activity for her winter sports. “Especially for my snowboarding, it’s really cool for balance,” she explained, while also noting her varied offseason regimen, which includes kickboxing, biking, wakeboarding, and water skiing. “All of this gives me a sense of movement that I apply on the skis as well,” she added.
For Ledecka, windsurfing provides an exhilarating sense of freedom. “There’s only the wind and me and my equipment,” she said, describing her preferred summer schedule of daily physical training followed by windsurfing until sunset.
Athletes successfully competing in both Summer and Winter Olympics are relatively rare, but not unheard of. Notable examples include American hurdler Lolo Jones, who participated in both track and bobsledding, and Eddie Eagan, who won gold in boxing in 1920 and bobsledding in 1932. As Ledecka prepares for the Alpine skiing world championships, where she will compete in super-G and downhill events, her diverse training approach could prove advantageous. Having recently triumphed in the super-G at last season’s World Cup finals in Saalbach, expectations are high.
Ledecka is also in discussions with the International Olympic Committee to adjust the scheduling of events during the upcoming Milan-Cortina Olympics next year. She aims to partake in both the snowboarding parallel giant slalom and women’s downhill skiing events, which are set for the same day in different venues that are a considerable distance apart.
Despite her talents, Ledecka admits that there are some sports where she struggles. “I’m really terrible at golf and also I don’t really enjoy it because it’s really slow,” she confessed. “I’m probably really bad in football (soccer), too. … Whenever I attempt a new sport, I typically find it challenging at first, but that motivates me to push forward until I master it.”
On the artistic side, Ledecka’s father, Janek, is a well-known singer in the Czech Republic, and she has even recorded a Christmas song with a family friend. “That was terrible,” she remarked about her musical endeavor. “In music and the arts, everything is so complicated. … (In sports) it’s quite clear. No matter how you look or what you do, just be fast.” However, she has considered collaborating with her brother, a comic book artist who designs her athletic gear, on a song project.
Currently, with her commitments to snowboarding, skiing, and now windsurfing, Ledecka’s aspirations for a music career are temporarily on hold. Reflecting on the longevity of artists like Mick Jagger, she observed, “Yeah, I have time,” suggesting her determination to prioritize sports at this stage in her life.
