One glaring omission from Friday’s Kiwi line-up at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony is Zoi Sadowski-Synnott who’s gearing up for the biggest qualifying day of her career.
Sadowski-Synnott arrived in Beijing with a job to do and she’s not letting any outside noise influence – even though global media is now tracking her as well following a string of top performances.
“[The attention] has gotten crazy the past couple of years,” Sadowski-Synnott told 1News.
“It’s so different from the last Olympics.”
In PyeongChang four years ago, Sadowski-Synnott arrived as an inexperienced 16-year-old who stunned the competition with her historic bronze medal.
Four years on, Sadowski-Synnott has well and truly stepped into the spotlight and is now in the form of her life having recently claimed back-to-back X Games golds.
She’s now on the hunt for the same medal in Beijing despite all the eyes firmly on her.
“I’m most proud about the way she tackles the pressure and how much fun she has with it,” coach Sean Thompson said.
“It’s a tough sport with lots of variables but she takes it in her stride with a smile on her face, she keeps focused and works hard.
“It’s just so epic to see her have this success.”
Her quest for gold starts with Saturday’s crucial qualifying runs – an event so important, the 20-year-old has opted to miss Friday’s festivities to settle in and come out firing.
“Qualifiers is a tricky one because you kind of want to hold so you land and get to finals but also put your best run down to qualify,” she explained.
“I’m just going to try snowboard as best I can and hope for the best.”
Countless hours have gone into the runs she'll showcase as one of the most innovative athletes in the competition, Thompson said.
“Zoi's been going off! She's been working really hard in the offseason and it's starting to pay off in the past results and she's been able to put on a show for everyone,” he said.
“Hopefully we can keep the ball rolling and have a great show here.”
The show begins at 3.45pm on Saturday with the qualifications for the women’s snowboard slopestyle competition.
SHARE ME