Zoi Sadowski Synnott

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on March 6, 2001, and later moved to Wanaka, New Zealand, at the age of six. She began snowboarding at a young age and quickly demonstrated natural talent. Her competitive career began in 2016 with her big air World Cup debut, where she placed ninth. This early success set the stage for rapid career progression. In 2017, Sadowski-Synnott earned a slopestyle silver at the World Championships and, at 16, became the youngest woman to win a snowboard slopestyle World Cup event. Her journey continued at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, where she secured a bronze medal in big air, making her the world’s youngest Olympic snowboarding medalist at the time.

Following the 2018 Olympics, Sadowski-Synnott established herself as a leading competitor in snowboarding. She won the slopestyle world title in 2019 and successfully defended this title in 2021, becoming the first snowboarder to achieve this feat. In 2022, she made history at the X Games by becoming the first woman in ski or snowboard to land back-to-back double corks in a slopestyle contest. The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics marked a significant milestone; Sadowski-Synnott secured New Zealand’s first Winter Olympic gold medal in slopestyle, adding a silver in big air days later. Her achievements include three slopestyle World Championship titles (2019, 2021, 2025 – where she also earned her first FIS Crystal Globe), multiple X Games gold medals, and the 2023 Natural Selection Tour backcountry freestyle title. In recognition of her accomplishments, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2023 New Year Honours.

Throughout her career, Sadowski-Synnott has consistently showcased her ability across various snowboarding disciplines. Her performance at the 2022 Aspen X Games included gold medals in both slopestyle and big air, demonstrating her versatility prior to the Beijing Olympics. She also secured victory at the Winter Dew Tour in Copper Mountain in 2021 and won the LAAX Open Slopestyle World Cup in 2023, a long-term goal. Her most recent achievements include a first-place finish at the Edmonton Big Air World Cup in December 2023 and an epic 2025 season with four World Cup podiums (three gold), a gold and bronze X Games medal, a win at Spring Battle, and being crowned the 2025 Snowboard Slopestyle World Champion, along with her first FIS Crystal Globe.