English Section

Milan-Cortina 2026: Poland’s Król-Walas finishes 7th in Olympic snowboard event

08.02.2026 17:00
Polish snowboarder Aleksandra Król-Walas finished seventh in the women’s parallel giant slalom on Sunday, missing out on a medal in one of Poland’s key medal hopes at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Poland Aleksandra Król-Walas in action during the womens parallel giant slalom competition at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Feb. 8, 2026.
Poland Aleksandra Król-Walas in action during the women's parallel giant slalom competition at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Feb. 8, 2026.Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Momot

Król-Walas, considered one of Poland’s strongest medal contenders, posted the fifth-fastest time in qualifying and defeated Canada’s Aurelie Moisan in the round of 16, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

In the quarterfinals, the 35-year-old Pole held a clear advantage midway through her run against Italy’s Lucia Dalmasso but lost balance near the finish and was beaten by 0.26 seconds, ending her medal bid.

"Anger, mostly anger," Król-Walas said afterward. "I’m just sad. I think I was capable of more, but that's sport. It’s a shame, because I was leading that run the whole way and one mistake just before the finish decided that it wasn’t me who won the bronze medal, but the Italian.”

The other Polish snowboarders — Maria Bukowska-Chyc, Oskar Kwiatkowski and Michał Nowaczyk — were eliminated in qualifying.

Elsewhere, Poland’s Dominik Bury finished 32nd and Sebastian Bryja 47th in the men’s skiathlon in cross-country skiing in Val di Fiemme.

In biathlon in Anterselva, Poland’s mixed relay team of Konrad Badacz, Jan Guńka, Kamila Żuk and Natalia Sidorowicz finished ninth among 21 teams.

On Saturday, Polish ski jumper Anna Twardosz finished 10th in the women's normal hill competition in Predazzo, marking her best result of the season.

Countrywoman Pola Bełtowska placed last, finishing 50th, Polish media reported.

(gs)

Source: TVP Sport, IAR, PAP