Winter Olympics star strips off clothes in wild celebration after defending gold medal

Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl celebrated winning back-to-back gold medals by stripping off at the finish line.

The 40-year-old immediately removed four layers of clothing after claiming victory in the men’s parallel giant slalom.

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Karl beat South Korea’s Kim Sang-kyum by 0.19 seconds in the final at Livigno Snow Park in Valtellina on Sunday afternoon.

In doing so, he secured Austria’s first gold medal of the Milan Cortina Games as well as his fourth Winter Olympic medal.

The snowboarding legend previously won gold in Beijing four years ago as well as silver in the same event back in 2010.

Meanwhile, he took bronze in the parallel slalom at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Karl is now the first athlete in history to win four Winter Olympic medals in snowboarding events.

He is also set to be the last Olympic gold medallist in the parallel giant slalom discipline.

Karl strips off to celebrate gold

The defending champion celebrated that feat in style after crossing the line ahead of Kim.

Karl ripped off all four layers on the top half of his body despite the freezing temperatures in Valtellina.

After going topless, he flexed his muscles in front of the crowd before embracing his beaten opponent.

An emotional Karl then continued to pump his first before dropping to his knees and slumping onto the snow.

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The five-time world champion is set to retire from the sport after the Winter Olympics following two decades on the professional circuit.

He announced in November that the current season would be his last, with his gold medal victory coming in his final ever race.

Karl had been one of two flag bearers for Austria during Friday’s opening ceremony alongside fellow snowboarder Anna Gasser.

This month’s Games in Italy are the fifth of his career, with Pyeongchang 2018 the only time he has failed to win a medal.

Winter Olympic sports could be axed

However, his event faces an uncertain future at the Winter Olympics.

The snowboard parallel giant slalom is one of two sports which could be axed ahead of the 2030 Games in the French Alps.

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A decision on whether to keep both the parallel giant slalom and Nordic combined amongst the schedule is set to be made by the IOC.

Their decision has been postponed until after the data from Milan Cortina has been evaluated, though.

Giant slalom made its debut at the 1998 Winter Olympics before becoming the parallel giant slalom four years later.

It has remained a fixture of the last eight Games including this month’s in Italy.