'A thing of beauty': Kiwi snowboarding superstar who slipped through Australia's fingers stuns
An Australian-born snowboarding superstar who competes for New Zealand has again twisted the knife — on this occasion, with a sublime showing in the women's big air final at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Admittedly, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott didn't secure gold on Tuesday (AEDT) — but the Sydney-born rider did pull off one of the sport's premier tricks, and picked up the silver medal for good measure.
Sadowski-Synnott was born in Sydney in 2001 and grew up in Newport on the Northern Beaches until the age of six.
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She then moved to New Zealand with her family, who made Wānaka, a town on the South Island, their home.
Sadowski-Synnott began with a forgettable opening run in the Olympic big air final but recovered in style, receiving scores of 88.75 and 83.50 with her second and third efforts to post a total score of 172.25.
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in action in the women's big air final at Milano Cortina. Getty
On her second run, the 24-year-old produced what's known as the backside triple cork 1440 — a trick consisting of four 360-degree horizontal rotations combined with three off-axis "corkscrew" flips.
It is one of the most complex tricks in the sport, and she performed it without fault.
"Are you not entertained?" said an amazed Mitch Tomlinson on the Nine broadcast.
"Zoi under the bright lights showing us why she is one of the most influential snowboarders of our generation."
Australian snowboarding great Torah Bright, the gold medallist in the women's halfpipe at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, was also in awe.
"That was just a thing of beauty," Bright said on the coverage.
In a stirring post-script to Sadowski-Synnott's medal-winning performance, the gun snowboarder stood with the New Zealand flag draped around her shoulders as members of the travelling Kiwi contingent performed the Haka in front of her.
Sadowski-Synnott said she'd never been so nervous for a competition.
"Scary tricks and putting them down when it matters is really hard," she said.
"I'm grateful I was able to put it down and grateful having my team and family here supporting me.
"This means so much."
Watch the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event live & on demand, every medal in 4K, and exclusive international coverage on Stan Sport.
In a landmark moment in the sport at the X Games in Aspen in January last year, Sadowski-Synnott became the first woman in history to land the backside triple cork 1440.
A snowboarding trailblazer, she has pulled off a host of wild tricks never previously landed in women's snowboarding, including the frontside double 1080 and the backside double 1080 back-to-back.
From left: silver medallist Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, gold medallist Kokomo Murase and bronze medallist Seungeun Yu. Getty
Sadowski-Synnott has now won four Olympic medals, including a gold in the slopestyle at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
In Livigno on Tuesday (AEDT), she shared a podium with Japan's Kokomo Murase, who won gold with a total score of 179, and South Korean teenager Seunguen Yu, who claimed silver with 171.
Team Australia had two riders in the final: Tess Coady, who finished seventh, and Olympic debutant Meila Stalker, who placed 10th.
Sadowski-Synnott and Coady shared a podium in the slopestyle at the 2022 Olympics, with the former winning gold and Coady bronze.
The slopestyle qualifying at Milano Cortina will begin at 8.30pm (AEDT) next Monday.
