Sadowski-Synnott claims New Zealand’s first-ever Winter Olympics gold medal

Snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has claimed New Zealand’s first-ever Winter Olympics gold medal.
Sadowski-Synnott, 20, saved her best for last, posting a score of 92.88 on her final slopestyle run at the Beijing Games on Sunday.

The New Zealander said the win was “unreal” coming off the back of two gold medals in slopestyle and big air at the 2022 X Games in January.

She said going into the final run she knew she had to replicate her performance of the X Games to win Olympic gold.

“I just took everything I had in me to try and land it. I knew going into that last jump I was going too fast so in the air I was just like ‘land. Do everything you can to land’. I’m so stoked that I did it.”

American snowboarder Julia Marino took the silver medal, with a score of 87.68 in her second run.

Marino, 24, was leading until Sadowkski-Synott’s final run but said she “couldn’t have asked for a better finals” regardless.

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“There’s so much emotions. Just pure excitement and happiness for everything. It was a great day, the weather was perfect, the course was perfect, the girls were riding well.”

Marino said her silver “hugely makes up” for her 11th placing in the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.

“This was kind of four years of redemption in a way.”

The bronze medal went to Australia’s Tess Coady with a score of 84.15.

American Jamie Anderson missed out on her bid to become the first snowboarder to win three consecutive gold medals in the same event.

The 32-year-old could only manage a score of 60.78 to finish in ninth place.

(dpa/NAN)