Krasnaya Polyana, Russia (SportsNetwork.com) - Swiss snowboarder Patrizia Kummer was among 16 riders to qualify for the 1/8 finals of the women's parallel slalom Saturday at the Sochi Olympics.
Kummer is aiming for her second medal in Sochi after winning gold in the parallel giant slalom on Wednesday. She had the third-best time in Saturday's qualifying round, completing her two runs in 1 minute, 3.82 seconds. Fellow Swiss boarder Julie Zogg qualified in fourth place with a time of 1:03.92.
Japan's Tomoka Takeuchi, silver medalist in the PGS, qualified in 13th place with a time of 1:05.41. Russia's Alena Zavarzina, who finished third behind Kummer and Takeuchi in Wednesday's event, also moved into the next round by completing her two runs at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park in 1:05.32.
Zavarzina leads a group of three Russian women into the next round. Natlaia Soboleva and Ekaterina Tudegesheva also advanced to Saturday's 1/8 finals.
Austria's Marion Kreiner posted the best time of qualifications with a time of 1:03.58. That was .16 seconds faster than Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic.
The United States did not have a single rider in Saturday's field. Ariane Lavigne, Caroline Calve and Marianne Leeson of Canada all failed to qualify for the next round.
Four rounds of finals will take place later Saturday to determine the medals. The competition in Sochi marks the first time Olympic medals will be awarded in this event.
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