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Czech skier pulls off huge upset to win gold

She was stunned when she crossed the finish line. She thought it was a mistake.
PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 17: Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic reacts at the finish during the Alpine Skiing Ladies Super-G on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on February 17, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The media had already declared a winner. That'll teach them a lesson.

Austria's Anna Veith was in the lead, and the favorites had already competed in the women's super-G. NBC had already left the event to show figure skating. They had to go back because, while they were away, Ester Ledecka shocked the world.

Ledecka, who is known as a parallel giant slalom snowboard world champion, was the final racer. She sped down the slope, making great time by running on an efficient line.

She crossed the finish line .01 seconds ahead of Veith. When Ledecka finished, she looked stunned. Almost emotionless. She looked at her time and then around at the crowd, as if she were waiting for someone to tell her it was a mistake.

It wasn't.

“This must be some mistake, they’re going to switch the time for some others," Ledecka said to the media after the race. “I was probably the only snowboarder on site. All the other girls didn’t risk a lot. There must be a lot of pressure on them. I was just trying to do my best run.”

WATCH: Snowboarder Ester Ledecka wins shocking Alpine skiing gold

It was by far one of the best reactions we've seen at PyeongChang, yet.

She even didn't believe she was going to win. She wore her goggles at the press conference afterwards. When asked why, she said because she wasn't as prepared as the other girls for the ceremony and wasn't wearing any makeup.

Now the mystery that needs to be solved, was she on Mikaela Shiffrin's skis?

Team USA's Shiffrin pulled out of the event because she needed a day off. She was training for consecutive days and preparing for events that continued to get delayed because of high winds.

Reports spread that Shiffrin, for reasons not yet known, allowed Ledecka to use her skis, and Ledecka used them to ski right to the top of the podium. However, Eileen Shiffrin, Mikaela’s mother and coach, disputed those accounts. She told the New York Times that Ledecka had likely chosen the same type of skis that manufacturer Atomic had provided a number of skiers.

NBC reported that Shiffrin passed her old skis to Ledecka, who has used these skis all season. It is not known whether the gold-medal-winning skis were actually a part of Shiffrin's racing collection at any point, the report stated.

Whatever the case, Shiffrin applauded Ledecka's efforts.

Editor's note: This story has been modified to include Shiffrin's mother disputing earlier reports of Ledecka borrowing her daughter's skis.

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