Zoi Sadowski-Synnott won Winter Olympic bronze. Photo / Getty Images
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott won Winter Olympic bronze. Photo / Getty Images
So how good exactly is Zoi Sadowski-Synnott? Remember the 16-year-old who wowed New Zealand and the snow sports fraternity by soaring to a bronze medal in the Big Air event at the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February?
Hours later, her New Zealand team-mate and fellow 16-year-old Nico Porteous bagged his own bronze in the freeski halfpipe, and in a whisk, New Zealand's Winter Olympic medal tally leapt from one to three. Annelise Coberger's silver in the slalom at Albertville in 1992 was no longer the Lone Ranger as far as Winter Olympic success went.
It's one thing to pull off a once-in-a-lifetime special moment but consistency is the next job for the pair.
Sadowski-Synnott, now 17 and still at Wanaka's Mount Aspiring College, has a big fan in one of the two women who beat her in PyeongChang, American legend Jamie Anderson. She is the winner of the first two Olympic women's slopestyle events, following her success in Sochi four years ago with gold in Korea.
That was followed by silver in the Big Air, beaten only by a slashing final dash down the hill and leap by Austrian Anna Gasser.
Anderson was in Queenstown for the start of the Winter Games yesterday but is not sticking around and competing as she has a sister's wedding to attend back home.
She sees big things in Sadowski-Synnott's future.
"I have known Zoi for years and she is incredibly talented," Anderson said. "I'm so happy for her with this season. She kicked ass and is only going to continue to do so."
Sadowski-Synnott is in action at the Winter Games on Thursday in the slopestyle qualifiers of the junior world championships.
Anderson, from South Lake Tahoe is snowboarding royalty. The fifth of eight children, she is the first woman snowboarder to win more than one Olympic medal, has 14 Winter X Games medals, including six gold and five silver, and could be an ambassador for the outdoors lifestyle, being blonde, healthy and fit.
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (left) and Jamie Anderson (right) flank Anna Gasser on the Big Air podium. Photo / Getty Images
Anderson started on skis at nine, but only went once. When she switched to snowboard, it was all go. Her start came when a family friend donated the gear to her.
"My two older sisters loved snowboarding and I got their hand-me-downs. They were my inspiration and who influenced me to follow my dreams. In fact, the first year I won gold at the X Games [in 2007 at Aspen], my sister Joanie won gold in the boardercross. We are the only siblings who have ever won together," she added with family pride all too evident.
Anderson would also be worth a conversation for New Zealand's tourism bosses. She is a reasonably regular visitor to the country.
"The first time I came was in 2006. I fell in love with the country and still love it. It's one of the most beautiful places on the planet."
At 27, Anderson is hardly reaching for her zimmer frame but she is well placed to assess the next crop of athletes coming through.
"It's amazing. The progression of women's snowboarding is at an all-time high and I couldn't be more proud of all the women. It's not easy to get out there and send big tricks on big jumps and now some of the girls are as young as 13 and absolutely killing it. I feel very inspired."
So what is it about snowboarding that spins her wheels?
"It's just way more fun [than skiing]. It's like surfing the mountain."
So what about the future? Are there specific plans or just keep rolling along, racking up the titles and after 13 years on the professional tour further enhance her standing as one of the United States' best-known athletes?
She was a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice three years ago and contested the 26th season of Dancing with the Stars this year.
"I definitely have an open mind and I'm down to just follow my heart and see where it takes me. That's always what I've practiced."
There's a film project in the offing and more back country snow and new tricks to work on. It's a happy life indeed.
