Juniors Czech pair of Tulach and Jechova take the mixed team title

The FIS Snowboard Alpine Junior World Championships 2026 in Folgaria started out with the mixed team event after some schedule reshuffling due to weather. The sun came out on Friday though for a great day of racing. 

There was a great crowd at the finish and the slope was well-groomed for the action. Fans flocked from Switzerland, Austria, the US, and of course the home Italian faithful were in attendance. 

In the end it was the Czech fans who had the most to cheer for. The Czechia 2 team of Ondrej Tulach (CZE) and Linda Jechova (CZE) took the top spot on the podium after a dramatic big final where they won by 0.13 seconds.

The United States 1 duo of Walker Overstake (USA) and Akina Kizuka (USA) took second. It is the first world championships medal for Kizuka and second team silver for Overstake after he took the spot in 2024 with Grace Domino (USA). It adds to a great month for both athletes. 

Kizuka made her senior World Cup debut earlier this month in Val St. Come. Overstake took fourth in one of the PGS races at the same World Cup event, setting a new career high. 

Rounding out the podium was Germany 1. The pair of Samuel Schwerdt (GER) and Mathilda Scheid (GER) had a great day of racing. It is their first medal as well. Germany were a bit behind after the first leg but Scheid put together a great performance to get them to the win in the small final.

Italy 2 looked good early. They settled for fourth after just missing out in the small final. The team was made up of the mighty duo of Tommy Rabanser (ITA) and Giorgia Carnevali (ITA). Rabanser will have to wait for his third junior world championships medal, after he won two individual silvers in 2025. 

One of the quarterfinal matchups was an all Czech affair. The Czechia 1 team of Krystof Minarik (CZE) and Hana Otipkova (CZE) led after the first run but missed a gate in run two and were eliminated by the Czechia 2 team of Tulach and Jechova.

Italy 1 were also stunned in the quarterfinals by Germany 1. The Italy 1 team of Manuel Haller (ITA) and Anna Victoria Mammone (ITA) had qualified sixth.

In the early rounds, there were some big results. Xenia von Siebenthal (SUI) led the Switzerland 1 pair alongside Nuri Mosca (SUI). The duo qualified in fourth and cruised through the first round. They hit a rough patch in round two as both athletes made small mistakes and suffered a DNF against Italy 2. 

Things did not go so well for Matthew Heldman (CAN) and Rowan Sweeney (CAN) in Canada 2. The pair qualified in second, but suffered a DNF in the first round. 

The Poland 1 team of Anatol Kulpinski (POL) and Weronika Dawidek (POL) suffered a similar fate after qualifying third then a DNF in round one. 

The action will continue with the men and women competing for the individual titles in parallel giant slalom on Saturday. Qualification will begin at 9:00 local time with finals commencing at 12:45 local time. They will then hit the slope once again for the medals in parallel slalom racing on Sunday. 

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