Sadowski-Synnott, Anderson send final Slopestyle signals as Beijing showdown looms
It was no surprise to see Kiwi prodigy Zoi Sadowski-Synnott back atop a women's slopestyle snowboard podium at the X Games in Aspen on Friday 21 January. USA's two-time Olympic champion Jamie Anderson was right behind in second to carve out her own piece of history on the cusp of what could well be a Beijing 2022 showdown between the pair.
Snowboard
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott sent another huge message to the women’s snowboard slopestyle field for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games with a massive performance at the final pre-Beijing 2022 X Games contest in Aspen, Colorado.
The 20-year old from New Zealand, who’s been flying high of late with a gold medal at the Dew Tour event in Copper Mountain in December and second-place at the recent U.S. Grand Prix in Mammoth Mountain, ruled the competition in Aspen from her first run – and she never let go of first place.
Her second run on the day, with a pair of 1080 double corks (frontside to backside), was one of the most technical ever seen on a women’s snowboard slopestyle course.
“This means everything to me,” she said, all smiles, after her fourth run of the contest, which was held in ‘jam session’ format without a qualifying round. “Everyone out here was ripping and this was the sickest contest I’ve ever been a part of. I was so stoked just to put the run down because I’ve been working on it for so long.
“It’s super special to have the fans back out here today,” added the PyeongChang 2018 gold medallist in Big Air after laying down what might well be the gold-medal run in women’s slopestyle next month in Beijing.
History for American Anderson
While Sadowski-Synnott might be looking like the moment’s favourite heading into the Beijing Games, 31-year-old Jamie Anderson can never be counted out. The American, who won a pair of slopestyle Olympic golds at Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018 and edged Sadowski-Synnott to the U.S. Grand Prix gold earlier this month, overcame a pair of falls – one in the rails section and one on the jumps – in each of her first two runs to seal up second place.
The silver medal sees the American match Canada’s Mark McMorris for the most X Games medals in history. To put her achievement in perspective, Shaun White – legend and icon of action sports for the last two decades – only has 18 X Games podiums to his name.
Riding in her 23rd X Games, Anderson’s fall in her second run was in service of some major ambition. And in her third run, she landed a backside rodeo-to-cab 1080 double cork to seal her piece of X games history just two weeks out from the Beijing Games .
- READ | Get to Know Jamie Anderson