Standing at the top of the mountain for her final run of the women's slopestyle final, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott knew exactly what was required of her.
As the top qualifier, the 20-year-old Kiwi was the last name on the run list, so, no matter what the situation, her final run woulddictate her result.
And in this case, Sadowski-Synnott needed to send it. Counting an 84.51 from her first run, the Kiwi had the silver medal in the bag, but if she could better an 87.68 set by the USA's Julia Marino, she would be going home with a gold medal.
She had already had an incomplete ride - going down on her second run. With one final attempt on the course, she needed to go big - and did she ever.
Dropping a flawless run before being swarmed by Marino and Australia's Tess Coady, Sadowski-Synnott waited as the judges announced her score - 92.88 and a gold medal.
Gold medal winner Zoi Sadowski Synnott, silver medal winner Julia Marino and bronze medal winner Tess Coady celebrate. Photo / Getty
New Zealand's first gold medal at the Winter Olympics, plenty of people around the world were quick to jump at the opportunity to share their congratulations for the young Kiwi and the sportsmanship shown by the athletes.
Omg stop it how they hugged Zoi when her score came through 😭 I swear there’s so much more sportsmanship and camaraderie in snowboard and skateboard than the other sports
Watching Zoi Sadowski-Synnott win New Zealand's first-ever winter Olympics gold was wonderful. Watching all the women's slopestyle finalists celebrate together when it was over was absolutely amazing. pic.twitter.com/8ACphWPdhG
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, how clutch is that!!? First ever NZ gold medal at the #WinterOlympics!! And how awesome is the outpouring of love from her rivals?! 😭💪🥝
