Zoi eyes more success
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott isn’t thinking about what flavour cocktail she’s going to order for her 18th birthday next month – she’s got more medals on the brain.
The newly crowned world slopestyle champion will, on March 6, be laying down a World Cup qualifying run at Mammoth Mountain in California.
‘‘Pray I do a good run, because [if I don’t] that would kind of ruin my birthday,’’ she said.
A year ago the Wanaka teenager catapulted to fame when she won the Winter Olympics bronze in the big air.
Twelve months later and the young woman on the end of the phone at Seattle airport isn’t a one-medal wonder.
In the last month she has won the X Games gold medal and the slopestyle world title.
She’s not surprised at her feats. Snowboarding is her occupation and, on top of doing school work, she has worked hard to get to this point.
‘‘I have become a lot more confident competing.’’
This week’s slopestyle gold medal, however, didn’t go entirely to plan. After putting down a safe run consisting of a 720 and two 540s in the qualifying run, she was then ready to come in with a little more heat on her second run.
Instead, in bad weather in Park City in Utah on Sunday, she caught the edge of the rail and smacked her head on the snow, suffering concussion which ruled her out of further competition.
She didn’t have a clue where she was and was walked off the course to meet the waiting medic.
The weather was awful enough to force organisers to cancel the event and a modest 755 qualifier was enough to claim a world title.
‘‘I was pretty confused when I got to the bottom of the run. I didn’t really know where I was or anything, but I can recall everything that happened now.’’
Sadowski-Synnott has had a number of concussions before, but doesn’t recall how many. She never feels unsafe when at the top of a dangerously high run.
‘‘I’m pretty confident and things happen. It is just part of the sport and you kind of just have to deal with it in your own way and focus on the good things rather than the bad things.’’
This doesn’t stop her mother, Robin, calling and worrying about the second youngest child of five in the Sadowski-Synnott clan. ‘‘When I fall and even when I don’t injure myself she always worries.’’
Sadowski-Synnott is now symptom-free from concussion and has been cleared to get back on the snow in just one week. She was on her way to British Columbia in Canada to see some mates before competing at the US Open on February 25.
Her latest accolade has seen her hailed as the new queen of New Zealand sport, grouped with Lydia Ko, Lisa Carrington and Valerie Adams.
‘‘That is pretty cool, I am pretty honoured,’’ she said.
‘‘They are some big names I have heard while growing up. That’s pretty crazy.’’