Snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott wins New Zealand’s first ever Olympic Winter Games gold medal

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott made history for New Zealand as she became the first athlete in the country’s history to win a gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games.

The 20-year-old snowboarder was trailing America’s Julia Marino as she went into the final run but successfully executed a 1080 double cork to move into the gold medal place.

“Honestly it just feels unreal, I’m super proud of where my snowboarding has come in the last four years,” said Sadowski-Synnott.

“It took everything I had in me to try to land [that last jump] and I told myself just to do anything you can to land it – and I did.”

Such was the spirit of sportsmanship her Marino and bronze medallist Tess Coady were the first to celebrate Sadowski-Synnot’s achievement.

“It’s like the only sport where your competitors cheer for you; [they’re] more stoked when someone lands a trick than the person themselves,” Sadowski-Synnot said.