Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has secured another major snowboarding win, soaring to victory at the season-opening Snowboard Big Air World Cup event in Canada on Sunday.
The 22-year-old from Wanaka headed off a high-qualify field in Edmonton, and pronounced herself "super stoked".
"It's the first comp of the season for me so it feels good to go into the first one and come away with the win," she said.
The spectacular finals took place under floodlights on a scaffold jump inside the Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, with the crowds and entertainment creating an exciting vibe.
The Big Air three run format requires the athletes to successfully throw down two different tricks in two different directions to be awarded a combined score out of 200.
Reigning Big Air Olympic silver medalist Sadowski-Synnott was the top qualifier, almost 20 points ahead of her nearest rival.
After an uncharacteristic fall in her first finals run, she calmly produced an excellent second run which secured 97.25 points - the highest of the day in both the women and men's competition.
"I have been working on the switch backside 1260 for the last six months, it's a super technical and scary trick so I was super happy to put it down in competition." she said.
Her third run scored 86.00 points, enough to clinch overall victory and provide evidence Sadowski-Synnott will be hard to topple on the World Cup circuit.
"Managing the pressure going into run two, I knew I could land the switch back 1260 and just had my fingers crossed for the back 1080. I have done that trick a lot of times, all the girls were riding so well, and it motivated me to put it down when it mattered."
Reigning snowboard slopestyle World Champion, 16-year-old Mia Brookes of Great Britain, finished in second place while two-time Big Air Olympic champion Anna Gasser of Austria rounded out a power-packed podium.
Sadowski-Synnott has finished on the podium at every event she has contested for the past three seasons, including an Olympic slopestyle gold in Beijing last year.
Compatriot Lyon Farrell of Arrowtown placed ninth in the men's event.
