Australia’s Josie Baff wins Olympic gold in women’s snowboardcross

LIVIGNO, Italy — Australia’s Josie Baff took the lead midway through and held off her challengers to win a gold medal in women’s snowboardcross at the Winter Olympics on Friday.

Eva Adamczykova of the Czech Republic was next across the line for the silver, followed by Italy’s Michela Moioli for bronze.

Baff, 23, the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics champion in snowboardcross, finished 18th in the event four years ago at the Beijing Winter Games. She is the second-ranked racer in the snowboardcross World Cup standings this season.

In snowboardcross, four riders race on a course with banks, rolling bumps and jumps to see who finishes first. The first two racers advance from each round in bracket fashion to the final.

Swiss racer Noemie Wiedmer finished Friday’s final in fourth, missing the podium.

France’s Chloe Trespeuch, the only returning medalist from Beijing 2022, where she won silver, was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

2022 champion Lindsey Jacobellis, who had a daughter last year, is not competing at these Games.

On Thursday, Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria and Canada’s Eliot Grondin repeated as gold and silver medalists in men’s snowboardcross from four years earlier.