New Zealand Snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott Wins 3rd World Title

A snowboarder from a tiny island nation thousands of miles from major slopes has become one of the world's best, proving that big dreams don't require big countries.

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott grew up in New Zealand, where winter sports athletes face challenges their American and European competitors never think about. She spends eight months a year away from home, traveling from winter to winter with barely a summer break, all while competing against nations with far more money and training facilities.

The sacrifices paid off spectacularly. At just 16, she won bronze in big air at the 2018 Winter Olympics, becoming New Zealand's youngest Winter Games medalist. Four years later in 2022, she made history again as the first New Zealander ever to win Winter Olympic gold, taking the slopestyle title and adding a silver in big air.

Now she's heading to the 2026 Milan Cortina Games as the clear favorite in women's slopestyle. Her 2025 season proved she's at the top of her game when she claimed her third world championship slopestyle title and became the first New Zealand woman to win a Crystal Globe in the discipline.

Sadowski-Synnott credits her underdog status for her success. She told the Associated Press that coming from a small country without massive resources forces athletes to develop a special hunger. While others might see long travel and limited support as obstacles, she views them as character builders that separate those who truly want it from those who don't.

Why This Inspires

Her story shows how constraints can become advantages. Living out of a suitcase for months while others complain about short trips has built mental toughness that serves her in competition. The lack of established winter sports infrastructure in New Zealand meant she had to work harder than most, developing a resilience that now defines her approach to every event.

At 24, she's already reshaped what's possible for Southern Hemisphere winter athletes. Snowboarding was once dominated exclusively by the United States and Europe, but competitors from New Zealand, Japan, and other nations have expanded the sport's elite level. She now stands alongside New Zealand's most famous athletes, a rare achievement for a winter sports champion from her country.

Despite recent injuries, Sadowski-Synnott remains confident heading into Milan Cortina. She says fear fades with repetition, replaced by muscle memory and belief built through thousands of runs. For someone who's spent half her life chasing winter around the globe, turning limitation into Olympic gold seems like just another day on the mountain.