Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl became the Olympic champion in the parallel giant slalom at the Milan Games. Thanks to this, the Austrian became the Olympic record holder.
At the Games in Milan, Karl defended the title of Olympic champion, won in 2022 in Beijing. However, he was not the unanimous favorite: before the Olympics, he shared first place in the overall World Cup standings with Italian Roland Fischnaller.
In the qualification, Karl came third, behind Fischnaller and fellow Italian Aaron March. And in the round of 16, he faced the overall leader of the World Cup in parallel slalom, Maurizio Bormolini, whom he beat by 0.03 seconds.
However, Karl defeated all his rivals in the elimination rounds: in the quarterfinals he beat compatriot Andreas Promegger, in the semifinals – Slovenian Tim Mastnak. And in the “golden” downhill he defeated the representative of the Republic of Korea, Kim Sang-geum, with a lead of 0.19 seconds.
After winning the final, Karl could not contain his emotions and celebrated his “gold” in an unconventional way: he took off his T-shirt and shouted towards the stands with his bare torso.
Benjamin Karl's emotions after winning the “gold” of the 2026 Olympics. AP/Lindsey Wasson
“It was a tribute to Hermann Mayer. ” Austrian alpine skier, 4-time Olympic medalist — Karl explained in a comment to the organizers of the Olympics. — He was one of the best skiers in the history of Austria and once did this [celebration]. I always wanted to do the same. I lost this chance in Beijing because I was too emotional, and now I took advantage of it. It took me 25 years to repeat this pause. Now I have done it — the pinnacle of my career.”
Thanks to the “gold” of the 2026 Olympics, Karl became a record holder: the first snowboarder in history with four awards at the Games.
Top 5 snowboarders by medals at the Olympics
- 4 medals: Benjamin Karl (Austria, 2 gold + 1 silver + 1 bronze)
- 3 : Shaun White (USA, 3+0+0), Jamie Anderson (USA, 2+1+0), Lindsey Jacobellis (2+1+0), Vic Wilde (2+0+1), Ayumu Hirano (Japan, 1+2+0), Maxance Parro (Canada, 1+1+1), Zoe Sadowski-Sinnott (New Zealand, 1+1+1), Kelly Clarke (USA, 1+0+2), Jean Kosir (Slovenia, 0+1+2), Mark McMorris (Canada, 0+0+3)
Karl will not be able to improve his medal tally at this Olympics. Moreover, these Games will be the last in his career.