Zoi Becomes Most Decorated Olympic Snowboarder Ever

A kid from Wānaka who started snowboarding at eight just became the greatest Olympic snowboarder the world has ever seen.

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott clinched silver in women's slopestyle at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, bringing her total Olympic medal count to five. No snowboarder in Olympic history has achieved more.

The 24-year-old sat in fourth place heading into her final run at Livigno Snow Park, with everything on the line. She had stumbled on rails in her first two attempts, but that last chance would be different.

"Dropping into my last run, I took a moment to take it all in," Sadowski-Synnott said. "I felt really grateful and wanted to put everything I could into that last run, put it down when it mattered."

She delivered. Her clean final run scored 87.48 points, shooting her to second place just 0.35 points behind Japan's Mari Fukada. The pressure run secured New Zealand's third medal at these Games and cemented her place in history books.

Sadowski-Synnott topped the qualifying round and started strong with a 73.01 score despite an early rail mishap. Her second run brought 77.61 points, impressive jumps marred by another rail slip. But champions find a way when it counts most.

Why This Inspires

What makes Sadowski-Synnott's achievement remarkable isn't just the medal count. She represents a nation not known for winter sports, competing with zero expectations and maximum heart.

"I'm just proud to represent New Zealand," she said after learning she'd become the most decorated Olympic snowboarder. "Coming from a small country who aren't known to be huge winter athletes, any chance we get to show who we are on the world stage, we'll try and do our best."

She credits nearly a decade working with the same support team and a family that believed in an eight-year-old girl who fell in love with the feeling of getting better. "I was addicted to that feeling of slowly getting better and learning new tricks," she explained. "It makes me feel alive."

This silver adds to her Big Air silver from earlier in these Games, plus three medals from previous Olympics. When asked how it felt to hold the world record, her response was pure Kiwi: "It's pretty sick."

Meanwhile, fellow Wānaka athlete Dane Menzies finished seventh in men's slopestyle, just three points shy of bronze, already setting his sights on the next Olympics at age 20.

Five Olympic medals before turning 25, from a small island nation at the bottom of the world, proves that greatness doesn't need permission or pedigree.