Source: Radio New Zealand
New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski Synnott reacts in the snowboard women’s slopestyle final run 3 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno (Valtellina), on February 18, 2026. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has won silver in the women’s Snowboard Slopestyle event, in a final run that left viewers on the edges of their seats.
The win secures New Zealand’s third medal of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy.
After topping the qualifying round, Sadowski-Synnott was up last in the line-up of 12 women. Her run one score of 73.01 immediately took her to third place, despite coming off early on one of the rails.
She dropped to fourth during round two, where she remained after her 77.61-scoring run when, despite some impressive jumps, she again came off early on the second rail.
However, the 24-year-old managed to turn the competition around in her last attempt, with a clean run bringing her up to second place with a score of 87.48 – just 0.35 points behind Japan’s Mari Fukada, who took home gold.
The win marks Sadowski-Synnott’s fifth Olympic medal.
It was a longer than expected wait for competitors, after heavy snow saw the event postponed on Tuesday (local time).
New Zealand’s Dane Menzies falls as he competes in the snowboard men’s slopestyle final run 2 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno (Valtellina), on February 18, 2026. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
Earlier, Dane Menzies missed out on a medal in the men’s Snowboard Slopestyle final.
The 20-year-old from Wanaka was also 12th in the line-up after placing first in the qualifier, and got off to a strong start.
Run one earned him a solid score of 76.10, his best in the event, but run two saw him drop to fifth place with a score of 21.03.
Menzies was unable to up his score with a clean run on his last attempt, scoring 34.61, leading to a seventh place finish.
He only needed another three points to crack the top three.
China’s Su Yiming won the event with a top score of 82.41.
New Zealand has now secured three medals in this year’s games.
Luca Harrington brought home bronze at the men’s Freestyle Skiing Slopestyle event last week, while Zoi Sadowski-Synnott claimed New Zealand’s first medal of the games, taking silver in the Big Air event.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
