Zoi savors historic gold for New Zealand

Another first secured at Beijing 2022 in women's snowboard slopestyle

New Zealand claimed its first ever gold medal at the Winter Olympics on Sunday, with Zoi Sadowski Synnott winning the women's snowboard slopestyle event at Genting Snow Park in the Chongli district of Zhangjiakou.

The 20-year-old began brightly by taking the lead with her opening ride, but was surpassed by Julia Marino of the United States on the second run.

As the last rider up in the last run, Sadowski Synnott, though, didn't crumble under pressure, successfully performing a frontside double cork 1080 melon and a backside 1080 weddle grab to score 92.88 points and secure her win.

Marino took silver with 87.68, with Tess Coady of Australia third (84.15), with the pair mobbing Sadowski Synnott when the results were confirmed to celebrate.

"I tried to think last night what it would mean if I managed to land my run and come away with gold, and it feels unreal," Sadowski Synnott said. "I had a pretty crazy mindset going into my last run and I knew I had to put down the run that I put down at (last month's) X Games to win gold, and I just took everything I had and tried to land it."

Sadowski Synnott, who was born in Australia but moved to New Zealand when she was 6, said her feat made her "super proud" to be a Kiwi.

"Honestly it's absolute disbelief but it probably means more to me to win New Zealand's first Winter Olympic gold," she said, adding that she hopes her performance can inspire kids and people of any age to enjoy the fun of snowboarding.

Sunday's medal is the fourth for New Zealand since it first competed at the Winter Olympics in 1952 in Oslo. Sadowski Synnott accounts for half of those, after she and Nico Porteous won bronze medals at the Pyeongchang Games four years ago.

'Perfect' course

One of the main talking points of the slopestyle competition is the course's unique design, which skiing's international governing body, the FIS, last month described as "arguably the most technically advanced, thoughtfully designed, and awe-inspiring slopestyle course ever constructed".

It seems like riders are kung fu masters as they take off from a roof box designed in the style of traditional Chinese architecture and a jump shaped like the Great Wall. Silver medalist Marino, for one, was highly impressed and gave the competition a resounding thumbs-up.

"I'm feeling so many emotions. Now it's pure excitement and happiness. It was a great day. The weather was perfect. The course was perfect. The girls were riding well. I couldn't have asked for a better final. It's exactly what it should be like," the 24-year-old said.

"I'm so happy for all the girls out here. We're all really good friends, and it means a lot to me to watch them really ride their best. It's not an easy course by any means."