LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Austria's Benjamin Karl won the men's snowboard parallel giant slalom at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday, while host nation Italy - led by seven-time Olympian Roland Fischnaller - fell short of the podium.
The final featured 40-year-old Karl against South Korea's Kim Sang-kyum, who is three years younger. Karl secured victory by a margin of 0.19 seconds. Bulgaria's Tervel Zamfirov claimed bronze by defeating Slovenia's Tim Mastnak in the small final.
"I had no mistakes. Nothing. I found the perfect line, the snow conditions were amazing, we couldn't have it better. So it was really fun," Karl said after his victory.
Fischnaller, 45, widely regarded as a medal contender, topped the qualification round but exited the title race early, as did Italian teammate Mirko Felicetti.
"For me it's the seventh Olympics, and I'm quite relaxed. I'm enjoying this day and I really appreciate it," Fischnaller said, despite the disappointing result on home piste.
In the women's parallel giant slalom, Czech snowboarder Zuzana Maderova defeated Austria's Sabine Payer to win gold, while Italy's Lucia Dalmasso earned bronze.
Also Sunday, New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, the Olympic women's snowboard slopestyle champion at Beijing 2022, led big air qualification with 172.25 points.
Japan showed strong depth in the women's big air event, with all four riders advancing to the final, mirroring the men's qualification outcome.
China's Zhang Xiaonan qualified 11th with 154.50 points.
"I knew I had dropped out of the top 12 at that moment [after the second run], but my coach encouraged me to focus on executing my tricks," said the 19-year-old, who is competing in her first Olympic Games.
"In moments like this, it really comes down to who can stay more stable mentally," she added. ■
