Samková and Jan Kubičík finished second in the team snowboardcross race and won the first historical precious metal for the Czechs in the mixed team. But after falling at the finish, Samkova headed to the hospital with a broken ankle.

“Eva pushed the surfboard under her when she kicked the board at the finish line, when she wanted to get the best result the tip was somehow a little bit. She was already crying when I ran to her,” Kubičík told Radiožurnál Sport.

Eva Samková from the Czech Republic rejoices at victory in the inaugural World Championships in snowboarding in Changjia, China.

Brave maneuver towards gold. I’m glad I didn’t mess it up, Samkova laughed

Then the bad news came from the hospital. “Evka broke both legs at the ankle of the head of the tibia (shinbone). Soon she will have surgery here with specialists in Austria and the recovery will of course take time. That’s all we know at the moment. Hopefully Evka can make it in. and he will get out of it as soon as possible, especially mentally, because of course he is very unhappy,” said coach Marek Jelínek.

Recovery time is unclear, details surrounding Samková should be announced as early as next week. Given the severity of the injury, it seems unrealistic that the 2014 Sochi Olympic champion could retain the 2018 bronze medal in Pyongyang in China.

Czech skier Ester Ledecka at the Super-G World Cup on Lake Louise.

Excited Ledecká: That’s great. He believed it would be faster. He will now exchange skis for boards

Kubičík won a medal at the World Cup for the first time. In second place, Samková repeated the team competition success from Erzurum, Turkey in 2018, where he rejoiced together with Vendula Hopjáková. However, the Olympic winner from Sochi and the bronze medalist from Pyongyang went to hospital after falling at the finish line, and Kubičík was alone at the ceremony.