Crazy. Unreal. Proud. Those are the words Zoi Sadowski-Synnott's family said of the 20-year-old's incredible gold medal-winning performance in Beijing.
The Kiwi snowboarder became the first New Zealander to win gold at the Winter Olympics after a pressure-packed slopestyle final on Sunday afternoon.
Sitting in silver going into the final run of the competition, Sadowski-Synnott stomped three huge jumps to rocket to the top of the podium and create history.
Watching on from her hometown of Wānaka was her family - parents Sean and Robin, older siblings Dylan and Reilly and younger sister Illy.
Dylan told 1News it was "absolutely incredible" seeing his sister win Olympic gold.
"It was just amazing. She was stoked, she enjoyed it. That’s all we can ask for."
READ MORE: 'Dream come true' - Sadowski-Synnott on winning Olympic gold
Meanwhile, sister Illy said she was overwhelmed with emotion when Zoi's final score popped up on the screen and realising she had won gold.
"I didn’t expect her to jump from second to first and when I saw the score I was just in shock, I couldn’t control my emotions at all. Just tears for so long," she said.
Sean told Sky Sport he was "ecstatic" with the result.
"She's a competitor, under so much stress, but she pulled it through.
"It's pretty fricken exciting."
The family planned on having "one or two drinks" to celebrate Zoi's historic victory, while also thanking New Zealanders for their support.
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