Zoi Sadowski-Synnott
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (born 6 March 2001) is a New Zealand snowboarder, specialising in slopestyle and big air competitions. She won the bronze medal in the women's big air at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and won the women's slopestyle title at the 2019 World Championships.[2]
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Nationality | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Sydney, Australia[1] | 6 March 2001||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 57 kg (126 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Snowboarding | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Slopestyle Big air | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal life
Sadowski-Synnott was born in Sydney, Australia, to a New Zealand father, Sean Synnott, and an American mother, Robin Sadowski. Her family moved to Wanaka, New Zealand when she was six years old.[1][3] She has two older brothers, Dylan and Harrison,[3] and one older sister, Reilly.[4] She resides in Wanaka, and attends Mount Aspiring College.[5]
Career
Sadowski-Synnott won the silver medal in the slopestyle at the 2017 FIS Snowboard World Championships.[6]
She competed for New Zealand at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.[7] She won the bronze medal in the women's big air, becoming only the second New Zealander to win a Winter Olympic medal, behind Annelise Coberger who won silver in the women's slalom at the 1992 Winter Olympics.[8] Her big air qualifying saw her become the first woman to successfully land a switch backside 900 (i.e. riding in unnatural stance and performing 2.5 rotations in the backside direction) in competition.[9][10] She also competed in the women's slopestyle, finishing in 13th place.[11]
At age 16 years 353 days, Sadowski-Synnott briefly became New Zealand's youngest ever Olympic medallist, breaking the previous record of 17 years 100 days set by Danyon Loader at the 1992 Summer Olympics. The record was broken later the same day by Nico Porteous at age 16 years 91 days.[12] She was subsequently selected as New Zealand's flag bearer for the 2018 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, becoming the nation's youngest-ever flag bearer.[13]
In January 2019, Sadowski-Synnott claimed the gold medal in the slopestyle event, and the silver in the big air, at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.[14] A month later, she won the gold medal in the slopestyle at the 2019 FIS Snowboard World Championships.[2]
In March 2019, she won the slopestyle event at the US Open in Vail, Colorado, completing the triple crown of the Open title, the X Games gold, and the World Championship title. [15]
In March 2020, she claimed the gold medal in the slopestyle event at the Winter X Games in Hafjell, Norway.[16]
In January 2021, she claimed the silver medal in the slopestyle event, and the bronze in the big air, at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.[17]
International competitions
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
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2017 | FIS Snowboard World Championships | Sierra Nevada, Spain | 2nd | Slopestyle | |
2017 | FIS Snowboard World Championships | Sierra Nevada, Spain | 4th | Big air | |
2018 | Winter Olympics | Pyeongchang, South Korea | 13th | Slopestyle | |
2018 | Winter Olympics | Pyeongchang, South Korea | 3rd | Big air | |
2019 | Winter X Games | Aspen, Colorado | 1st | Slopestyle | |
2019 | Winter X Games | Aspen, Colorado | 2nd | Big Air | |
2019 | FIS Snowboard World Championships | Park City, Utah | 1st | Slopestyle | |
2019 | US Open | Vail, Colorado | 1st | Slopestyle | |
2020 | Winter X Games | Hafjell, Norway | 1st | Slopestyle | |
2021 | Winter X Games | Aspen, Colorado | 2nd | Slopestyle | |
2021 | Winter X Games | Aspen, Colorado | 3rd | Big Air |
References
- Caldwell, Olivia (22 February 2018). "Zoi Sadowski-Synnott's double wildcat catapults her into NZ Olympic folklore". Stuff.
- "Kiwi snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott wins world slopestyle title". Stuff. 11 February 2019.
- Rattue, Chris (1 April 2017). "Snowboarding: Olympic star could be rising from snowhere". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- Nugent, Sean; Morris, Chris (23 February 2018). "Resort 'stoked' by teens' efforts". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- "Olympic medal a win for Mt Aspiring College". Newstalk ZB. 22 February 2018.
- "FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2017 Women's Snowboard Slopestyle Final Results" (PDF). Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- "Nico Porteous joins brother in team for Winter Olympics, history beckon". Stuff.co.nz. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- "Bronze medal! Zoi Sadowski-Synnott wins New Zealand's first Winter Olympics medal since 1992 in Big Air final". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/19/womens-big-air-contest-means-even-bigger-tricks-sports-progression-continues/350304002/
- http://www.fis-ski.com/snowboard/freestyle-snowboard/news-multimedia/news/article=anna-gasser-first-ever-olympic-big-air-champion.html
- "2018 Winter Olympics: It all goes awry for Kiwi snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott". Stuff.
- Norquay, Kevin (22 February 2018). "2018 Winter Olympics: Meet the high-flying 16-year-olds who made New Zealand proud". Stuff. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- "Zoi Sadowski-Synnott to carry New Zealand flag at closing ceremony". Stuff. 25 February 2018.
- "Gold for Kiwi Zoi Sadowski Synnott after late call up to elite US event". Stuff. 27 January 2019.
- "Zoi Sadowski-Synnott claims snowboarding triple crown with US Open win". Stuff. 2 March 2019.
- "Snowboarding: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott wins X Games slopestyle gold in Norway". Newshub. 9 March 2020.
- "X Games: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott wins second medal in Aspen, claims bronze in Big Air". Stuff. 1 February 2021.
External links
- Zoi Sadowski-Synnott at the International Ski Federation
- Zoi Sadowski-Synnott at Snow Sports NZ
- Zoi Sadowski-Synnott at the New Zealand Olympic Committee