Samkova, Dierdorff capture snowboardcross titles at worlds
Favourite Lindsey Jacobellis of U.S. doesn't advance to big final
Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic added a world championship snowboardcross title to her list of accomplishments on a day when favourite Lindsey Jacobellis didn't advance to the big final in Solitude, Utah.
Samkova beat British rider Charlotte Bankes on Friday in the women's final, with Michela Moioli of Italy taking third. A five-time winner in the event at worlds, Jacobellis of Stratton Mountain, Vermont, didn't make it out of the semifinals. She won the small final to take fifth.
Richmond, B.C.'s Carle Brenneman finished eighth and Meryeta Odine of Prince George, B.C. was 13th.
The 25-year-old Samkova earned Olympic snowboardcross gold at the 2014 Sochi Games and bronze last February in South Korea when Moioli took first.
In the men's race at worlds, Mick Dierdorff of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, beat Hanno Douschan of Austria for the title. Italy's Emanuel Perathoner was third.
Baptiste Brochu of Saguenay, Que., finished sixth.