Snowboarding: Sadowski-Synnott back on the podium

New Zealand snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Wanaka snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has claimed the 10th World Cup podium of her career, with a second-place finish at the prestigious LAAX Open Slopestyle in Switzerland.

The 23-year-old was back competing at the highest level following a quiet 2024 as she recovered from an ankle injury.

"There is nothing like competing when there's perfect weather out and everyone is on point, so we were all feeding off each other and it was sick," the defending Olympic slopestyle champion said.

"It means everything to me to be back competing at a high level, [my ankle] took so much longer than expected to come right but I am so stoked to be snowboarding."

Almost 100 snowboarders descended on the much anticipated second slopestyle event of the 2024/25 season.

The LAAX Open is widely regarded as the pinnacle slopestyle World Cup event of the season.

Sadowski-Synnott dropped into her first run switch, putting down two technical rail tricks before heading into the jump section where she laced back-to-back 900s on the first two jumps and finished strongly on the quarter pipe feature with a backside air. She was the first athlete of the day to put down a top to bottom run and was rewarded a 75.36.

Sitting in second heading into her second and final run, Sadowski-Synnott knew she needed to add something special to challenge Mia Brookes of Great Britain for the top of the podium.

She upgraded her second jump to a huge switch backside 1260, which marked the first time any woman has landed that trick in a slopestyle competition. The judges increased her score, but a couple bobbles in the top section of her run meant she was unable to top Brookes' first run score and remained in second position.

"I am super hyped on the switch backside 1260, that was the first time I have landed it in a slopestyle competition. I luckily put two down in practice so coming into the second run I had confidence; I was stoked to put it down."

Current snowboard slopestyle world champion ,17-year-old Brookes, took the win for the first time in her career at the LAAX Open, with Kokomo Murase of Japan rounding out the podium in third.

Dane Menzies and Lyon Farrell represented NZ in the men's finals, finishing in seventh and eighth respectively.

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