Kiwi youngster tastes more success
Snow Sports New Zealand says New Zealand snowboard ace Zoi Sadowski-Synnott’s second X Games gold medal is proof she is on track for potential Winter Olympics success.
The 19-year-old world champion from Wanaka triumphed in the women’s Slopestyle in Norway on Sunday (Monday NZ time) to back up her 2019 title in Aspen.
The Norway success follows the Halberg Awards sportwoman of the year category finalist’s 2019 world championship victory in Utah and her bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Korea.
Snow Sports New Zealand high performance director Nic Cavanagh saluted SadowskiSynnott’s X Games excellence.
‘‘We are delighted by this result. Winning in Norway is confirmation that Zoi’s performance and progression are on track for the longer-term goal of success at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games,’’ Cavanagh said.
‘‘Midway through the fouryear Olympic cycle Zoi’s focus has still been very much on progressing and working towards the ideal Olympic run. She has been consistently on or close to the podium all year.’’
Sadowski-Synnott finished fifth at X Games Aspen in January
after crashing on her second run, but was all class in Norway.
The X Games commentators may not have been able to pronounce Wanaka at first attempt, but they hailed SadowskiSynnott’s technical prowess in the rails section at the top of the course where she produced a 180 backside bluntside move and a boardslide pretzel on her first run. Officials claimed her switch backside double cork 900 stalefish in run three was the biggest trick of the contest.
Sadowski-Synnott took an early lead in the first run and retained it to the end.
Competitors had to contend with rain, which SadowskiSynnott said made conditions ‘‘pretty tricky’’.
‘‘It was pretty nervewracking, but I was just chilling,’’ she said in a post-event interview on the X Games website. ‘‘I came in today just knowing it was who rides the best in the conditions.’’
Sadowski-Synnott’s success capped a memorable weekend for Snow Sports New Zealand with three Central Otago-based freeride athletes filling three of the top four places at the Freeride World Tour skiing event in Fieberbrunn, Austria.
Craig Murray (Wanaka) took the win in men’s ski. Hank Bilous (Wanaka) joined him on the podium, in third place, with Blake Marshall (Queenstown) fourth.