New Zealand kids end Games drought

After going 26 years without a Winter Olympics medal, rugbymad New Zealand toasted a pair of fresh-faced schoolchildren on Thursday as they captured bronze in snowboard and freestyle skiing.

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous, both 16, reached the podium to emulate countrywoman Annelise Coberger, who skied her way to a silver medal in slalom in 1992, well before they were born.

At 16 years and 353 days, Sadowski-Synnott became New Zealand’s youngest Olympic medallist after finishing third behind Austria’s Anna Gasser and Jamie Anderson of the US in Friday’s inaugural snowboard Big Air competition.

The previous record was held by swimmer Danyon Loader, who won a silver medal as a 17-year-old at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

“It really hasn’t sunk in,” said Sadowski-Synnott. “I was sitting down the bottom after my third run and they were like ‘you have to wait because you’re in third’ and I was like okay.”

But with social media in New Zealand already celebrating Sadowski-Synnott’s feat, along came Porteous to break the age record again in the men’s freestyle ski halfpipe.

American David Wise won the gold with a clutch final run from countryman Alex Ferreira, but Porteous claimed bronze at 16 years and 91 days.

“I had nothing left,” said Porteous, after virtually aborting his final run despite the opportunity to retake the lead. “That was all I had left in the bag.”