Zoi Sadowski-Synnott flies to the World Cup victory in Switzerland
New Zealand snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has won the LAAX Open Slopestyle World Cup in Switzerland for the first time in her career.
The 21-year-old Wanaka rider overcame a 24-hour delay and difficult track conditions to achieve the top score in her first run of the day.
Leading the field, she opted for a backside 720 instead of a planned 1080 on the first run, with a top score of 81.30.
The Beijing Winter Olympics slopestyle gold medalist’s second run scored 80.96 points, keeping her Austrian and British rivals at bay.
Mia Brookes, the 16-year-old snowboarder from Great Britain, took second place in the first slopestyle world cup of her career, while Austrian snowboarder Anna Gasser completed the podium in third place.
Sadowski-Synnott was elated after a nervous wait as the rest of the women’s field completed their final runs.
“Mia’s run was so good and even if I saw Anna go down it could have gone either way,” she said.
“I am so excited and so happy that I did this first run.
“I’ve dreamed of winning the LAAX Open since I started competing. The weather was pretty crazy, the practice was pretty crazy so it’s super sick when the sun comes out for the finals.”
Sadowski-Synnott will be in action at next weekend’s Aspen X Game where she will attempt to defend her Big Air and Slopestyle gold medals.
Tiarn Collins (Queenstown, 23) competed in the men’s slopestyle final tonight but failed to finish his first run. He made his second run and finished tenth.