Zhangjiakou (dpa) – The German snowboarders clearly missed the hoped-for Olympic medals in the parallel giant slalom. Ramona Hofmeister and Carolin Langenhorst failed in Zhangjiakou in the quarterfinals, Stefan Baumeister didn’t even qualify for the knockout round.
Melanie Hochreiter and Elias Huber also failed to qualify, while Yannik Angenend failed in the round of 16. The victory in the women’s category went to the outstanding defending champion Ester Ledecka from the Czech Republic, in the men’s category the Austrian Benjamin Karl triumphed.
“Maybe it just wasn’t my day,” said Hofmeister, who, after bronze at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018, was aiming for gold this time. “I already lost my cell phone today.” It was little consolation that it was quickly found again. “I’m very disappointed. The medal dream has burst,” said the 25-year-old after her loss against the Austrian Daniela Ulbing, who was the leader in the overall World Cup. In the round of 16, the athlete from WSV Bischofswiesen had to survive a moment of shock. She only won against the Japanese Tomoka Takeuchi by a jury decision after her opponent had obstructed her.
For Baumeister, who had also been one of the favorites after two first and two second places in the previous World Cup winter in China, the 18th place in the qualification was already over.