Kiwi Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has recorded the top score in the women's freestyle snowboarding qualifying on Saturday as she sent out a warning to her rivals ahead of Sunday's final.
On the slopes of Zhangjiakou, the 20-year-old was content to put down a relatively conservative first run after dropping in second of the 30 riders.
Sadowski-Synnott’s score of 73.58 was enough to put her third at the halfway mark.
Her second run was far more explosive, with the 86.75 the highest score recorded.
Japan’s Kokomo Murase and Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi finished second and third with scores of 81.45 and 78.83 respectively.
Sadowski-Synnott’s American rival Jamie Anderson finished fifth after record 74.35 in her first run.
Fellow Kiwi Cool Wakushima recorded a score of 34.36 with her first run to leave her outside the top 12 who qualify for Sunday’s final.
After her first run, the NZ Olympic Committee put out a release saying Wakushima had injured her tailbone in practice late on Friday.
"She showed up today despite being in pain, determined to ride through. Unfortunately, a subsequent fall during her first run has resulted in her being unable to drop into run two," she said.
"Wakushima is now returning to the village and we will see her in action in the big air in the coming days where she will be looking to put down her best tricks."
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