LIVIGNO, Italy -- Ester Ledecka's bid to become the first snowboarder to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals ended abruptly Sunday in the parallel giant slalom. The Czech star lost her quarterfinal race to Austria's Sabine Payer by just 0.06 seconds, ending her quest for history.

Ledecka entered the competition as a heavy favorite after dominating the sport's World Cup circuit. She hadn't lost a PGS race in nearly two years and hadn't missed a podium in five competitions. The 30-year-old made history at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games by becoming the first athlete to win medals in both snowboarding and Alpine skiing at the same Olympics.

This year's disappointment came after Ledecka attempted to compete in both the Alpine downhill and snowboarding PGS on the same day. She chose snowboarding but finished empty-handed, with her loss coming hours after Lindsey Vonn's crash in the downhill. Ledecka still has the super-G skiing event on Thursday, where she'll try to salvage her Olympic campaign.

Her early exit opens the door for Austria's Anna Gasser to potentially become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic titles in the big air event later Sunday. Chloe Kim is also attempting a three-peat in the halfpipe competition starting Wednesday, keeping the pursuit of Olympic history alive in other events.