Zoi wins X Games gold again
[L-R] Tess Coady of Australia in second, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand in first, Kokomo Murase of Japan in third. Photo: X Games
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has successfully defended her X Games Slopestyle gold medal at the prestigious, invite only event this morning in Aspen.
It's the fourth X Games Slopestyle gold medal for the Wānaka, 21-year-old, who also won gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics in the same event last year. It's her eighth X Games medal, a phenomenal feat.
Right after her win Sadowski-Synnott said" “Honestly, I can’t really believe it, it could have gone any way today, everyone is absolutely ripping, and I am so stoked for Tess and Kokomo. I am proud of what we were all able to do in these conditions.”
The weather was challenging in Aspen, light snow falling combined with flat light was adding another layer of complexity to the course today. Fresh snow on the landings of the jumps meant the riders had to be precision perfect to stick their landings.
The X Games Jeep Slopestyle has a different judging format to the usual format – the women had a thirty-minute window to take as many runs as possible, and rather than the judges giving the athletes a score, they simply rank them.
Despite the conditions, Sadowski-Synnott, the final athlete to drop in each round, made quick work of the course, securing the top spot after her second run.
Tess Coady of Australia took her next run and bumped Sadowski-Synnott down into second place. Sadowski-Synnott pushed hard to get back into the top spot with her third run but got caught up in the fresh snow on the landing of the second jump.
With everything on the line for her fourth and final run, Sadowski-Synnott knew she had to make it count. No stranger to pressure, she did exactly that, lacing together a technical rail run that included a huge cab 270 gap onto the flat down.
Finishing off her run with a backside 900 and a switch backside 900, there was a nervous wait at the bottom of the course, waiting to see if her run could knock Coady out of the top spot.
The ranking came in and Sadowski-Synnott was once again on the top of the podium at the biggest snowboard slopestyle event of the season. Coady claimed the silver medal, with Kokomo Murase of Japan in bronze medal position.
Sadowski-Synnott is in action again on Sunday from 2.15pm NZT, where she will be defending her X Games Big Air gold medal. Live stream available on the X Games YouTube channel (@xgames).
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in action at 2023 X Games. Photo: X Games
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott with her X Games Jeep Slopestyle gold medal today. Photo: Snow Sports NZ
