After winning parallel giant slalom world titles in 2025, Italy’s Roland Fischnaller and Czechia’s Ester Ledecka have a chance to make history in different ways at Milan Cortina 2026.
FIS/Miha Matavz
What are the major storylines?
Just in time for the Milan Cortina Olympics, Italy has become a powerhouse in men’s Alpine snowboarding.
Last season, seven of the top 12 athletes in the parallel giant slalom World Cup standings were Italian, including title winner Maurizio Bormolini. The team also includes Roland Fischnaller, who will be 45 at the time of the Milan Cortina Games and is bidding to compete at his seventh Winter Olympics. Fischnaller won gold in parallel giant slalom at the 2025 World Championships and also won the PGS World Cup season title in 2023.
Italy can select only four snowboarders from its talented bunch, but medal expectations will be high for whoever the host nation sends to Livigno Snow Park.
Fischnaller isn’t the only racer over the age of 40 who could compete at these Games — reigning Olympic champion Benjamin Karl, three-time Olympic medalist Zan Kosir and five-time Olympian Andreas Prommegger also are still active.
Karl won the parallel giant slalom and overall World Cup titles in 2024, his first titles in 13 years, while Prommegger has been the PGS runner-up for three straight seasons.
On the women’s side, Czech dual-sport star Ester Ledecka remains the rider to beat. Although she’s competed sparingly in snowboard races — her focus has been on Alpine skiing — Ledecka performs well any time she does show up. Her most recent appearance came at the 2025 World Championships, where she won PGS gold and parallel slalom silver. In doing so, she became the first person to win world championships medals in Alpine skiing and snowboarding in the same season.
At the Milan Cortina Games, Ledecka could become the first snowboarder to three-peat in a Winter Olympic event. However, the timing of snowboarding’s parallel giant slalom race conflicts with Alpine skiing’s downhill race. Ledecka’s efforts to lobby Olympic organizers for a schedule change so far have been unsuccessful, which would leave her with a difficult decision.
Ledecka has indicated that she’s leaning toward picking the snowboard event that day, as the schedule still would allow her to race Alpine skiing’s super-G, the event she won gold in at the 2018 Games, a few days later. The situation remains in flux, however.
In Ledecka’s absence, Germany’s Ramona Hofmeister and Japan’s Tsubaki Miki have won World Cup season titles in parallel giant slalom.
Who’s in and who’s out?
While many men still are competing well into their 40s, a few Olympic gold medalists decided to hang up their boots before reaching that point.
Russian snowboarder Vic Wild, who won two gold medals at Sochi 2014 and a bronze at Beijing 2022, retired after the last Winter Olympics. Switzerland’s Nevin Galmarini, the 2018 Olympic champion, retired after the 2022 season as well.
The women’s side also had a few notable retirements as Switzerland’s Patrizia Kummer, the 2014 Olympic gold medalist, and Austria’s Daniela Ulbing, the 2022 silver medalist, both stepped away from competition. Ulbing, who is only 27, sat out the 2024-25 season before announcing her retirement in May.
Japan’s Tomoka Takeuchi, who will be 42 during these Games, remains active and, like Fischnaller, could compete at her seventh Winter Olympics. Takeuchi secured a silver medal in parallel giant slalom at the 2014 Sochi Games.
And, oh yeah, remember when Claudia Riegler was mentioned at the very start of this article? Well, Riegler is now 52 years old — she didn’t compete in Beijing — and is still on the World Cup circuit. In fact, last season she was ranked eighth in the overall World Cup standings for Alpine snowboarding. The one who breaks Riegler’s age record very well may be herself.
Who are some of the new stars?
- Maurizio Bormolini (ITA): A 31-year-old snowboarder who has been competing on the World Cup circuit since 2011 might not seem to fit the profile of a “new star,” but in this discipline where 40-year-olds have been among the top riders, Bormolini finally has found consistency. He’s finished in the top three of Alpine snowboarding’s overall World Cup standings for three consecutive years and won the parallel giant slalom and overall titles last season. The Milan Cortina Games would be his Olympic debut, and he would be a strong medal contender for the host nation.
- Tsubaki Miki (JPN): Since making her Olympic debut in Beijing and placing ninth, this 22-year-old from Japan has been on the rise. Miki since has won gold at the world championships in both parallel giant slalom (2023) and parallel slalom (2025). After a few years of steady improvement, she finally captured her first Crystal Globe last season, and she did it in impressive fashion, sweeping the parallel giant slalom, parallel slalom, and overall World Cup season titles.