New Zealand has made history with Zoi Sadowksi-Synnott winning her first gold medal at the Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing.
The 20-year-old, from Wanaka, competed in the women’s snowboard slopestyle in Beijing’s Genting Snow Park on Sunday. With an iconic final run scoring 92.88, she was victorious against renowned American Julia Marino, who had led the race.
Nevertheless, Marino, who took silver, was the first to congratulate her. Followed by Australia’s Tess Coady, who took home a bronze.
At just 16, Sadowksi-Synnott won her first bronze in the Big Air Competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Consequently, she has been a hot name to watch for a number of years.
Excitingly, this win makes Sadowski-Synnott the first New Zealander to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in over 70 years. Certainly, a remarkable achievement.
GOLD for ZOI! I had the honour to be there four years ago to see @zoisynnott win bronze. Ever since she has continually lifted her game to be one of the best snowboarders in the world. Our first ever Winter Olympic gold medal! So proud of this awesome woman. Happy Waitangi Day! pic.twitter.com/RC7gdSBown
— Grant Robertson (@grantrobertson1) February 6, 2022
Deputy Prime Minister, Grant Robertson, led the celebrations on social media. He announced on Twitter that since Zoi’s win in 2018, she has persistently upped her game to become ”one of the best snowboarders in the world.”
Wonderfully, Sadowski-Synnott will compete again on February 14. In fact, it will be in the women’s Big Air competition. Indeed, this is where she took home a bronze four years ago.
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