World Snowboarding Championships, Women's Snowboardcross, March 1, 2023, Bakuriani. Czech competitor Eva Adamczyková.
Bakuriani (Georgia) – Eva Adamczyková is the world champion in snowboardcross for the second time. A year and a quarter after breaking both legs at the ankles, she dominated the championship in Bakuriani, Georgia, where she won all four races including the final and followed up on the title from 2019. It is her first victory after a serious injury in December 2021.
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The snowboard crossers were originally supposed to complete the qualification on Thursday and the race on Friday, but due to the unfavorable weather forecast, the organizers moved the entire program to today. And it was a lucky day for 2014 Olympic champion Adamczyk. In style, she managed the morning round of 16, which replaced the qualification, as well as the subsequent quarterfinals. In the semifinals, she faced reigning Olympic champion Lindsey Jacobellis for the first time and won again, albeit by a smaller margin.
In the fight for medals, she used a proven strategy, when she gained speed in the first corner and immediately got to the front. She developed a significant lead over the three rivals. The 20-year-old Australian Josie Baffová then chased after her, but did not catch up. Bronze was won by five-time world champion Jacobellis from the USA.
Adamczyková experienced a dreamlike return to the top stage. In the World Cup this season, her best was fourth, but she dominated at the World Cup. “I had to win because I changed my last name and Eva Adamczyková doesn't have the gold yet,” she joked during a televised interview at the finish line. “I tried to enjoy it and go as fast as possible. I gave it my all, because it's more balanced than four years ago. I'm extremely happy,” added the three-time World Cup medalist. In addition to the two titles, he also has the bronze from last year.
Other Czech representatives Vendula Hopjáková, Radek Houser and Jan Kubičík failed in the opening round. Jakub Žerava and Kryštof Choura ended up in the round of 16, where they finished fourth.
Both defending champions, British Charlotte Bankesová and Spaniard Lucas Eguibar, were surprisingly eliminated already in the preliminary round. They were replaced on the throne by Adamczyková and the Austrian Jakob Dusek, who beat the German Martin Nörl at the finish line thanks to kicking the board.
MS in acrobatic skiing and snowboarding in Bakuriani:
Snowboardcross:
Men: 1. Dusek (Austria), 2. Nörl (German), 3. Visintin (It.), 4. Hämmerle (Austria), …25. Žerava and Choura eliminated in the round of 16, 33. Houser and Kubičík (all from the Czech Republic) eliminated in the 1st round.
Women: 1. Adamczyková (Czech Republic), 2. Baffová (Aust.), 3. Jacobellisová (USA), 4. Petitová Lenoirová (Fr.), …17. Hopjáková (Czech Republic) eliminated in the round of 16.
