Zoi Synnott has just delivered one of the defining moments of the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, clinching silver in the women’s snowboard big air and earning the Southern Hemisphere’s first medal of the Games. After a tough start, her performance on the big stage was nothing short of epic.
Her night didn’t start that smoothly. Dropping in as the top qualifier, Synnott didn’t stick her first run, leaving her way down the leaderboard and under pressure for the rest of the final.
But when it mattered, Zoi put it down. On her second attempt, she put down a massive backside triple cork 1440, then backed it up with a switch backside 1260 on her third, two of the cleanest landed tricks of the final. Those runs lifted her into second place overall with a combined 172.25, behind Japan’s Kokomo Murase (gold) and ahead of South Korea’s Seungeun Yu (bronze).
While the spotlight rightly shines on Zoi, Cocomo and Seungeun Yu, a couple of other local riders grabbed headlines too:
Australia’s Meila Stalker qualified into the big air final in 6th place, a stellar result in her Olympic debut, and threw down gutsy runs that earned her a 10th-place finish in the final.
Tess Coady, already a Beijing bronze medallist, also made the final and finished 7th, riding with her trademark experience and style.
Both Aussies represented snowboarding in the best way on the biggest stage, helping round out an unforgettable final. Their performances, along with Zoi’s historic medal, underline just how strong the Southern Hemisphere female snowboarding has become.
Silver might read second on paper, but this one carries serious weight. For Zoi, for New Zealand winter sport and the broader down under snowboard scene. Congratulations to all the women who competed, but in particular our Southern Hemisphere champs.
Bring on slopestyle.
