Born in Japan, Wakushima moved to New Zealand with her family at age eight and settled in Queenstown. Having taken the plunge this season to test herself and challenge the world’s best, Wakushima grabbed her opportunity. Her first event was that world championship in Aspen, Colorado when she qualified for the final and placed eighth. A seventh placing at Silvaplana, Switzerland, in her third World Cup was a satisfying way to finish her debut campaign. Her coach, Snow Sport New Zealand high performance snowboard coach and former double Olympic representative Mitch Brown, is impressed. “What she’s learnt has been great and will only help her in years to come. She will be challenging the podium,” he says.
Snowboarding: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous claim gold at Freeski and Snowboard World Championships
12 Mar, 2021 11:40 PM
4 minutes to read
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has won her second gold at the world championships. Photo / Photosport
NZ Herald
New Zealand snow sports stars Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous have both claimed gold medals at the FIS Freeski and Snowboard World Championships in Aspen.
Snowboarding phenomenon Sadowski-Synnott stunned her rivals to claim first place in the Slopestyle World Championship after a stumbling start to the competition.
Along with the gold medal, Sadowski-Synnott has become the first person to ever defend a FIS Snowboard World Championship title and it came at the last possible moment for the 24-year-old.
Sadowski-Synnott scored 85.95 on her third and final run after crashing on her first two runs to edge Anderson’s first-run score of 81.10 for gold. Australia’s Tess Coady, also 20, won bronze with the 78.13 she scored on her second run.
A euphoric moment on the piste for snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, after becoming the first person to defend a slopestyle world championship title
A euphoric moment on the piste for snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, after becoming the first person to defend a slopestyle world championship title 13 March 2021
She s swept from last to top spot with the final run of the competition.
Sadowski-Synnott has described the final throes to Jason Pine on Newstalk ZB s All Sport Breakfast.
The triumph goes with her Olympic bronze in the big air, and the silver and bronze in the slopestyle and big air respectively at January s X-Games.