LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — The fans from the Czech Republic clanged cowbells and waved their red-white-and-blue tricolor for a sun-splashed Olympic victory they simply knew was coming.
Then, they all looked down and checked their programs.
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Czechia's Ester Ledecka waits to compete during the women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Austria's Benjamin Karl celebrates after winning the gold medal in men's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Austria's Benjamin Karl celebrates winning the gold medal in the men's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Czechia's Ester Ledecka, left, and Austria's Sabine Payer hug after Payer advanced during the women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Austria's Sabine Payer, left, beats out Czechia's Ester Ledecka during the women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Czechia's Ester Ledecka reacts after finishing behind Austria's Sabine Payer during the women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Their favorite speed racer, Ester Ledecka, her quest for a third straight title vanquished early, was a mere spectator Sunday when another Czech, eight years younger and without a single big-time win in her career, zoomed across the line to keep the gold medal in snowboarding's parallel giant slalom safely in the republic.
Her name: Zuzana Maderova.
“I can’t believe it now," the 22-year-old said, “but I’m an Olympic champion.”
A few hours after Lindsey Vonn wiped out on an Alpine downhill course a mountain range away in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Ledecka — and Maderova — reinforced the obvious to the Winter Olympic world: There are no sure things when these racers hit the slippery ice and snow.
“Suddenly, I made a mistake in the quarterfinals,” said Ledecka, who skittered and put her hand down at the sixth gate in the quarterfinal, costing her precious time and a chance at another title. “I did my best. It’s what can happen in this sport.”
Her country's president, Petr Pavel, came to Livigno expecting to celebrate a win. It was a good bet. Ledecka hadn't lost a PGS race in nearly two years or missed a podium in five.
But after the second round (quarterfinals) of head-to-head action in a single-elimination format, she was only a bystander.
Her opponent, Sabine Payer of Austria, won the quarterfinal by 0.06 seconds.
Asked what she would've done differently, Ledecka focused on her form.
“I would do the toe side much better. I would probably put my inner shoulder up and do it better,” she said.
Ledecka first shocked the Olympic world eight years ago when she became the first athlete to win gold medals in both a skiing and a snowboarding event. Even she didn't quite believe she had won the ski race. Nobody was surprised about the snowboarding.
She has been splitting time ever since — she'll head to Cortina for a super-G race next Thursday. But in deciphering the reasons for this shocking loss, her coach, Justin Reiter, said her nine ski races versus one in snowboarding in the leadup to Milan Cortina wasn’t that big a factor.
“I take the responsibility there, maybe not being as prepared as we could've been,” he told The Associated Press. “Adapting her training a little bit. ... She has so much more in the tank. She can ride so much faster. But she didn't gear up. She geared down.”
There were no such regrets from Maderova, and certainly not from Payer, who raced her way to the silver medal. She lost to Maderova by 0.83 seconds in the final, but will go down as the woman who took down this sport's GOAT.
“The win against Ester, I think it was not expected, I would say,” Payer said. “I knew I had to risk everything and go all-in. Mistakes can happen. I think she might have helped me a bit. I don't know how her run was, but I'm really, really happy.”
Ledecka’s loss now gives Austria’s Anna Gasser a chance to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic titles. Gasser takes the hill in big air qualifying later Sunday. Also trying for a three-peat is Chloe Kim. Her halfpipe contest starts Wednesday.
The only repeat on this day belonged to Austria's Benjamin Karl, who won his second straight title, then celebrated by stripping off his shirt, doing a huge weightlifter flex, then falling, bare-chested, into the snow.
The 40-year-old Karl, who also has a silver and a bronze in his career, said that belly flop was a tribute to alpine skiing legend Hermann Maier. It was pure joy to cool off with the mountain sun beating down.
“We have four runs, it was really long, we are sweating full gas — it’s like you’re coming out from the sauna," he said. “I wanted to lay longer in the snow to cool down.”
The day also included an all-Italian race for third in the women's bracket; Lucia Dalmasso won it by 0.11 seconds and was weeping near the finish line. At the time, it marked Italy's sixth medal of the games and put the home country at the top of the medals table.
The men's third-place race was a photo finish that put Bulgaria into the medal column thanks to Tervel Zamfirov's lean at the line.
All in all, it was a wild, unpredictable day at the snow park for PGS, a sport whose Olympic future is under review, leaving Ledecka, 30, unsure of whether she'll get another chance for that third gold in 2030.
“I don't think anyone will give a (expletive) about what the athletes think, to be very honest," she said. "It's always like that with the Olympic committees. I wish this time will be different and they'll go see how much crowd we brought in, how excited everyone was, how amazing this race was and think, ‘Oh, why would we cancel this race?’”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Czechia's Ester Ledecka waits to compete during the women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Austria's Benjamin Karl celebrates after winning the gold medal in men's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Austria's Benjamin Karl celebrates winning the gold medal in the men's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Czechia's Ester Ledecka, left, and Austria's Sabine Payer hug after Payer advanced during the women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Austria's Sabine Payer, left, beats out Czechia's Ester Ledecka during the women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Czechia's Ester Ledecka reacts after finishing behind Austria's Sabine Payer during the women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Defense won this championship.
Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall, Byron Murphy and the rest of Mike Macdonald’s ferocious unit pummeled Drake Maye, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 on Sunday to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl.
Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner, Kenneth Walker III ran for 135 yards and Jason Myers set a Super Bowl record by making all five of his field-goal tries.
Walker became the first running back to win the Super Bowl MVP award since Terrell Davis 28 years ago.
Uchenna Nwosu punctuated a punishing defensive performance by snagging Maye’s pass in the air after Witherspoon hit his arm and ran it back 45 yards for a pick-6.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind feeling, bro,” Witherspoon said. “You talk about a group of guys who battle every day, who believe in each other and believe in their coach, you can’t describe this group no better. It’s just a one-of-a-kind feeling. I was just so happy to battle with these guys. We went through a lot, but we believed. All of you all doubters out there who said all that other stuff, you all don’t know what’s going on in this building. We’re one of one over here.”
Seattle’s “Dark Side” defense helped Darnold become the first quarterback in the 2018 draft class to win a Super Bowl, ahead of Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson.
“To do this with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. “So proud of our guys, our defense. I mean, I can’t say enough great things about our defense, our special teams.”
Labeled a bust, dumped by two teams and considered expendable by two others, Darnold proved his doubters wrong while helping the Seahawks go 17-3.
After leading the NFL with 20 turnovers in the regular season, Darnold didn’t have any in three playoff games. He wasn’t particularly sharp against a solid Patriots defense but protected the ball and made enough plays, finishing 19 of 38 for 202 yards.
“I know we won the Super Bowl, but we could have been a little bit better on offense, but I don’t care about that right now,” Darnold said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling, man. I’m just so happy for the guys in the locker room and the coaches that put in so much effort throughout the whole season.”
The Seahawks sacked Maye six times, including two apiece by Hall and Murphy. Hall’s strip-sack late in the third quarter set up a short field and Darnold connected with Barner on 16-yard scoring toss to make it 19-0.
Julian Love’s interception set up another field goal that made it 22-7 with 5:35 left.
The Patriots (17-4) punted on the first eight drives, excluding a kneel-down to end the first half.
“We had a really good year, one that I’m proud of,” New England coach Mike Vrabel said. “But this game wasn’t a reflection of that. We were outcoached and outplayed.”
Down 19-0, Maye and the Patriots' offense finally got going. He hit Mack Hollins over the middle in traffic for 24 yards and then lofted a perfect 35-yard TD pass to Hollins down the left side to cut the deficit to 19-7.
Tom Brady once led Bill Belichick’s Patriots to the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, when New England rallied from a 28-3 deficit against Atlanta for a 34-28 overtime victory.
But Maye, who was runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the AP NFL MVP award in the closest race in two decades, didn’t come close. He had a chance to get it closer, but his ill-advised pass into triple coverage was picked by Love and the Patriots trailed by 15 when they got the ball back with 5:35 left.
Then came Nwosu’s touchdown, a fitting way to cap an overwhelming effort by the NFL’s stingiest defense.
“Definitely hurts. They played better than us tonight,” Maye said.
Maye’s 7-yard TD pass to Rhamondre Stevenson late in the game only made the margin smaller.
The Seahawks took a 3-0 lead on Myers’ 33-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive. Myers connected from 39 and 41 yards to extend the lead to 9-0 at halftime. He was good from 41 on Seattle’s first drive of the third quarter to make it 12-0.
Cornerback Christian Gonzalez made two outstanding plays to prevent potential touchdowns in the second quarter. He raced back and leaped in the air to slap away a deep pass to Rashid Shaheed that could have been a 76-yard TD.
On Seattle’s last drive in the first half, Gonzalez knocked down a pass to All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba that would have been a 23-yard TD.
Rylie Mills pushed left guard Jared Wilson into Maye and took both of them down on one of Seattle’s sacks.
Bad Bunny headlined a visually stunning halftime performance that also featured appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. The Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist entirely in Spanish.
The Patriots failed to win the franchise’s seventh Super Bowl, which would have set an NFL record. They’re tied with the Steelers with six championships.
Vrabel, the AP NFL Coach of the Year, was aiming to become the fifth person to win a Super Bowl as a player and head coach and the first to do both with the same team.
The 23-year-old Maye was trying to become the youngest QB to win a Lombardi Trophy. Ben Roethlisberger still holds that mark.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald hold the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the New England Patriots the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald is reflected in the Lombardi Trophy after a win over the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold eyes the Lombardi Trophy after a win over the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold celebrates after defeating the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Seattle Seahawks Byron Murphy II (91), Devon Witherspoon (21), and the Seahawks defense celebrate after Murphy recovered a fumble after a sack during the third quarter of Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (7) celebrates his touchdown on a fumble recovery during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner catches a touchdown pass during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) is sacked by Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Rylie Mills, right, sacks New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, left, during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Rylie Mills celebrates after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Rylie Mills (98) celebrates after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald walks the field during an NFL Super Bowl football practice on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in San Jose, Calif., ahead of Super Bowl 60 between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, left, talks with team owner Robert Kraft at the practice venue for their Super Bowl 60 NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) arrives during an NFL Super Bowl football practice on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in San Jose, Calif., ahead of Super Bowl 60 between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye waits to be in a group photo at their practice venue for the Super Bowl 60 NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
