Snowboarder wins World Cup gold

Switzerland's Fraenzi Maegert-Kohli has won gold in the women's parallel slalom at the World Cup snowboard championships.

She beat off close competition from Doris Günther of Austria and Ekaterina Tudegesheva of Russia, who came second and third in the race in Gangwon in South Korea on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old from Grindelwald dominated the qualifiers and had to compete in the parallel slalom in bad weather.

“I never expected to win gold in the parallel slalom, especially not in these conditions,” she said later.

Around 400 riders from 45 countries are competing in the championships, viewed as the most prestigious event in the sport after the Winter Olympics. The competition runs until January 24.