Kiwi snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has come agonisingly close to another finish atop the podium at the X Games, winning silver in the Big Air at Aspen, Colorado on Sunday (NZ time).
Needing a score of 44 in the final run of the day to leapfrog Japan's Reira Iwabuchi into first place and defend her crown, Sadowski-Synnott was awarded 42 to clinch the silver medal, replicating her feat in the same event at last year's Beijing Olympics.
The medal is the Wanaka native's second in as many days, after she defended her slopestyle crown on Saturday to claim gold.
With her second attempt, the 21-year-old landed a backside 1260 that earned a score of 44, then backed that up with a 42 in her fourth and penultimate run to shoot into second place.
She threw down a clean switch backside 1260 in her final effort to finish with a total of 86 from her two best runs - not quite enough to knock Iwabuchi (87) from her perch.
"I am super happy to put down the two tricks I’ve been working on for a year and come away with the silver," said Sadowski-Synnott after the event.
"I am so proud to finish behind Reira, who stomped the first triple cork in women’s competition."
The medal haul caps off a successful start to 2023 for Sadwoski-Synnott, who won her first Laax Open World Cup slopestyle crown in Switzerland last week.
