ZHANGJIAKOU: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott stood on top of the podium in women’s snowboard slopestyle at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday, winning the first-ever Winter Games gold medal for New Zealand.
Julia Marino of the United States took the silver and Tess Coady of Australia the bronze.
Cheers erupted in the stands after Sadowski-Synnott’s run and two other medalists piled on top of her to congratulate her.
“Could not be more proud right now,” the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Teams quickly tweeted after the 20-year-old’s win as she scored an impressive 92.88 on her final run.
The skies were sunny but hard snow and coldness made the event challenging for boarders as air temperatures fell to -19.6 degrees Celsius before the start of the finals at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou.
The Secret Garden Olympic Slopestyle course is designed to resemble sections of the Great Wall of China. Boarders grind rails, jump over a replicate of an ancient guard tower covered with snow and soar over massive jumps to attempt complex and extremely dangerous tricks.
The Kiwi snowboarder was the first woman this year to land a back-to-back frontside double 1080 and backside double 1080 in competition.
Ahead of the finals, the New Zealander said her rivalry on the slopes with Jamie Anderson of the United States pushed her to elevate her snowboarding.
“She pushes you so hard,” Sadowski-Synnott said before the contest.
The reigning twice-gold medalist Anderson, however, ranked ninth at Sunday’s event.
“I blew it, I fell, it sucks,” she said. — Reuters
