The land of the long white cloud has its first gold medal in Winter Olympics history.
Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand threw down a thrilling run on her last trip down the Secret Garden Olympic Slopestyle course on Sunday to claim the gold medal for her island nation.
“Greatest run of my life,” said the 20-year-old Sadowski Synnot, an Australian-born shredder with an American mother and a Kiwi father.
They moved to Wanaka, on New Zealand’s South Island, when she was 6.
New Zealand is best-known for its beloved All Blacks rugby team and even for being home of sailing’s America’s Cup. But it also has mountain resorts, including near where Sadowski Synnot lives, making it one of the top destinations in the Southern Hemisphere for snowboarding and skiing.
“Absolute disbelief,” Sadowski Synnott said. “It probably means more to me to win New Zealand’s first winter gold.”
