2014 Winter Olympics skiing results: Eva Samkova gets gold in snowboard cross
The 21-year-old Czech with a fake mustache won her first gold medal in women’s snowboard cross.
Cameron Spencer
If there ever was an event that would feature a winner taking the podium in a mustache drawn on her by her coach, it would probably be Snowboard Cross, now in its third iteration as an Olympic sport.
That said, it takes a special sort of insouciance to rise to the gold medal stand with aforementioned Groucho Marx panache, but Eva Samkova has it. The 21-year-old Czech boarder finished first in every single one of her heats including the final in order to take home the first gold medal of her career.
Samkova’s dominance overshadowed Dominique Maltais, the Quebecois Canadian who received a silver medal despite being about a decade older than most of her competitors. Chloe Trespuch of France beat out the only American in the final, Faye Gulini.
Lindsey Jacobellis, the Connecticut native who won eight snowboard cross gold medals in the X Games -- including the Olympic tune-ups at the end of January -- came in sixth and last place in her semifinal heat to send her to the “small” finals, where she was first down the slope. Considering that she finished only eight tenths of a second behind Samkova in the seeding heats (between Samkova and Maltais), Jacobellis is likely kicking herself for a mediocre semifinal run.
The day would go to the young Czech, however, smiling through her greasepaint.
Full results from the competition can be found on Sochi 2014’s website, here.
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