Benjamin Karl celebrated defending his Winter Olympics parallel giant slalom title by taking his top off and lying down in the snow. The Austrian was already one of the most accomplished parallel snowboarders in history, and a second Olympic gold medal only cemented his legacy.

Karl, 40, beat surprise finalist Kim Sangkyum of South Korea and is now the first athlete to win four Olympic medals in snowboard. His first came 16 years ago in Vancouver, when Karl took silver after losing to Canada's Jasey-Jay Anderson, and the second was a bronze in parallel slalom four years later in Sochi.

He came fifth at the following Winter Olympics in PyeongChang before bouncing back with gold at Beijing. Karl concludes his career as an Olympic champion after saying back in November that "this will definitely be my last season".

The Austrian is also a five-time world champion across parallel slalom and the giant discipline. However, his last of those golds was five years ago in Rogla, Slovenia.

Snowboarding commentator Ed Leigh said on BBC Two: "Unbelievable acceleration through the last four gates and Benjamin Karl makes it pay," adding: "It's like he had a turbo charger through the last gates.

Leigh continued: "A fourth Olympic medal and a second gold. The Austrian is the most dominant men's parallel giant slalom snowboarder of all time."

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However, for many casual viewers, the abiding memory of Karl will be his celebration. He removed four layers of ski clothing before flexing shirtless at the bottom of the slope.

Karl Seed called his namesake "a nutcase" on X, but conceded "that's incredible. What a way to sign off an event from the Winter Olympics." Lance Manion, meanwhile, called it: "peak man energy".

Connor Lousbury said: "More of this please." Marisa Tigney added that Karl: "Proved that age is nothing but a number!"

Others subdued any celebrations by alluding to Karl's conviction for negligent homicide in 2022 after his involvement in a fatal car crash that killed a 70-year-old man and seriously injured his 69-year-old wife when the snowboarder's vehicle skidded into oncoming traffic after not obeying the speed limit in rainy conditions. The Austrian expressed remorse and accepted full responsibility, being handed a suspended three month sentence.