Fischnaller and March make a strong statement in qualifying

On Sunday in Livigno, Olympic gold will be awarded in the parallel giant slalom for snowboarders. In the qualifying round, the two South Tyroleans, Aaron March and Roland Fischnaller, impressed – the latter even dominating at will.

February 08, 2026

From: never

These are Roland Fischnaller's last Olympic Games – and they could provide a fabulous highlight to his farewell tour. On Sunday morning, the 45-year-old twice clocked the fastest time in the qualifying round for the parallel giant slalom in Livigno. In the first run, Fischnaller battled with South Korea's Sangho Lee and once again demonstrated his elegance. With a time of 42,39 seconds on the red course, the reigning world champion was faster than anyone else. His teammate Aaron March from Völs am Schlern followed closely behind (42,74).

This meant that the qualifying run became an all-South Tyrolean duel for first place. March held the lead for a long time, but Fischnaller turned up the heat in the lower section, overtaking him with an extremely tight and precise line on the blue course. The veteran was six-tenths of a second faster than his compatriot, and over both runs, the runner-up was a full 0,95 seconds behind. Austrian Benjamin Karl followed behind (+1,36). A glimpse of Fischnaller's first Olympic medal? After these phenomenal runs, the dream is closer than ever.

Coratti makes the jump

The knockout rounds begin at 13.00 p.m. in Livigno. Besides Fischnaller and March, the other two Italians, Mirko Felicetti (10th/+2,24) and Mauritio Bormolini (14th/+2,34), also qualified. In the women's competition, the host nation's quartet of competitors dwindled to three: Lucias Dalmasso (4th/+2,27), Elisa Caffont (6th/+2,59), and Jasmin Coratti from Langtaufers (13th/+4,21) advanced, while Sofia Valle was eliminated, finishing last (32nd/+9,82). The clear favorite for gold is Czech skier Ester Ledecka, who – like Fischnaller – posted the fastest time twice, relegating her compatriot Zuzana Maderova (2nd/+0,69) and Miki Tsubaki (3rd/+2,08) to second and third place, respectively.