![\"Zoi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4JTHO1N_AFP__20260208__96LM84X__v1__HighRes__SnowboardingOly2026MilanoCortina_jpg.jpeg\")
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\nZoi Sadowski-Synnott competes in the snowboard women’s big air qualification at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
\nPhoto: AFP\n<\/p>\n
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has made a loud statement to start to her Winter Olympic<\/a> campaign, topping qualifying for the women’s Snowboard Big Air.<\/p>\n The three-time Olympic medallist produced the best run of the day early on at Livigno Snow Park in Northern Italy, unleashing a score of 90.0 in a superbly-executed first run.<\/p>\n It ensures she’ll be among the women to beat in Tuesday morning’s 12-woman final.<\/p>\n Her score wasn’t matched for the remainder of the two-and-a-half hour session, with her highly-technical backside 1260 – which included three-and-a-half revolutions – the standout performance.<\/p>\n Sadowski-Synnott appeared relaxed and happy as all six judges scored the run an identical 90.0, handing the Kiwi a lead she wasn’t to lose.<\/p>\n Sadowski-Synnott followed up with the fourth-best score in the second round of 82.25, and the seventh-best score in the third round – also 82.25.<\/p>\n It gave the 24-year-old an overall tally of 172.25 – a combination of her two best scoring runs.<\/p>\n It was enough to see off Japan’s Murase Kokomo tally of 171.25, with Briton Mia Brookes third (167.00).<\/p>\n “I’m so stoked, I couldn’t be happier to make it into the final,” Sadowski-Synnott told Sky Sport.<\/p>\n “I was pretty nervous coming into tonight, I’m not going to lie. Because it feels like even more competition when you’ve got the full field.<\/p>\n “To put it down and make it through, I’m super-happy. I just hope I can do the tricks that I’ve been planning to do (in the final).”<\/p>\n \nNew Zealand’s Lucia Georgalli competes in the snowboard women’s big air qualification during the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. New Zealand’s Lucia Georgalli missed a place in the 12-woman final, finishing 25th in the 29-strong field with a score of 117.00.<\/p>\n Georgalli was 11th after the first run but lacked rhythm in her second and didn’t land her third.<\/p>\n W\u0101naka’s Sadowski-Synnott is competing in her third Olympics and is chasing her first Big Air gold.<\/p>\n She competed in her first Big Air World Cup in 2016 at the age of 15 and made her mark in 2017 with a World Championship silver medal in slopestyle.<\/p>\n A year later, she competed at the Pyeongchang Olympics, claiming a bronze medal in the Big Air.<\/p>\n \nNew Zealand snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. In Beijing 2022, she made history as the first Kiwi to ever win a Winter Olympic gold medal when she won the snowboard slopestyle title. She followed that up just days later with a silver medal in the Big Air.<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4JTHJY8_AFP__20260208__96LR27J__v1__HighRes__SnowboardingOly2026MilanoCortina_jpg.jpeg\")
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\nPhoto: AFP\n<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4LWBV4Q_zss_jpg.jpeg\")
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\nPhoto: PHOTOSPORT\n<\/p>\n
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