Snowboarding continues at Milan Cortina 2026 with parallel giant slalom (PGS), the only Alpine snowboarding discipline contested at these Games.

Thirty-two athletes will race against the clock during the qualification and elimination rounds before the top 16 riders go head-to-head in knockout rounds.

Veterans in both the men’s and women’s fields lead as medal contenders, a testament to how the sport rewards experience, consistency and efficiency over solely pure athleticism.

Continue reading to see who might end up on top of the podium.

Reigning world champion and two-time defending Olympic gold medalist Ester Ledecka of Czechia is favored to complete her three-peat in women’s parallel giant slalom. If she does, she’ll become the first snowboarder to win gold at three consecutive Winter Olympics.

Ledecka spent most of last season focusing on Alpine ski downhill and super-G contests. Yet her time away from the snowboard parallel giant slalom competition circuit didn’t negatively affect her. Ledecka burst back onto the hill at the end of the season to claim the 2025 snowboard PGS world title and carried her success into this season with a World Cup win in January. 

Tsubaki Miki of Japan capitalized on Ledecka’s absences to collect several wins. The bronze medalist from the 2018 Winter Olympics claimed the 2023 world title and swept the PGS, parallel slalom and overall discipline Crystal Globes last season. She placed second behind Ledecka at the 2025 world championships.

Germany’s Ramona Hofmeister has won five World Cup events in the past two years but has been unable to replicate the same success at the Olympics. She placed 5th at the Beijing Games.

Sabine Payer of Austria enters her first Olympics after a career-best season with two consecutive World Cup wins in December. Country woman Claudia Riegler, 52, will be the oldest snowboarder to compete in the Winter Olympics.

American Iris Pflum will be making her Olympic debut.

Italian Roland Fischnaller enters his seventh Olympics as a gold medal contender after clinching the 2025 world title — his first title since he began competing at the pro level in parallel giant slalom in 2001. Fischnaller’s best finish was 4th at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. He’s joined by teammates Aaron March, Mirko Felicetti and Maurizio Bormolini. Of the quartet, Bormolini has ridden the most consistently over the last season. He won his first Crystal Globe last year and a World Cup contest in December. Bormolini may have an advantage: He grew up snowboarding in Livigno, the mountain town hosting the snowboarding events at Milan Cortina 2026.

Defending Olympic champion Benjamin Karl of Austria is a threat to Italy’s plan to sweep the podium. He’s been competing in parallel giant slalom as long as Fischnaller and won the 2024 Crystal Globe. Karl also has a full collection of Olympic medals after placing 2nd in PGS at Vancouver in 2010 and earning bronze in parallel slalom (which is no longer an Olympic event) at Sochi in 2014. A second gold in PGS would be a good way for Karl to ride into the sunset. He announced that he will be retiring following the 2025-2026 Olympic season.

Fellow Austrian Andreas Prommegger finished behind Karl in the PGS Crystal Globe standings last year and has a shot at climbing onto the podium.

South Korea’s Lee Sang-Ho is coming into his third Winter Olympics fresh off a World Cup win last week. He won silver at the PyeongChang Games. 

The U.S. will be represented by Cody Winters, who will also be competing in men's snowboard cross.

Find out how quickly Fischnaller and Ledecka can race down the slalom course when the men’s and women’s parallel giant slalom starts at 3 a.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 8, on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.