New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott dominated the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle final at Dew Tour on Saturday, posting the two highest scores of the day in a best-of-three-runs contest format.
“I’m stoked to be back competing – I had an injury at the end of the New Zealand season – and I was just so stoked to get all my tricks back and be riding with the girls,” Sadowski-Synnott said. “Dew Tour was my first major event I ever went to, so I’m super stoked to finally do well and get on top of the podium. All of us girls were struggling to get speed on the course all week, and then this morning I finally managed to lace it all together.”
Already leading with her Run 2 score of 88.50 when she dropped in for Run 3, Sadowski-Synnott improved to 97.75 in Run 3, earning one of the highest scores in the history of Women’s Slopestyle. She opened it with an extremely technical line through the rails at the top of the course, with a 50-50 boardslide to fakie on the big wallride box, a switch boardslide to 270 out, and Cab 270 to switch, then went switch 900 melon, frontside 720 melon, backside 900 tailgrab in the jumps.
Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi finished 2nd, with one of the most memorable moments in Dew Tour history in Run 2: after a clean pass through the rails – frontside boardslide 270 on the smaller wallride feature, boardslide gap to boardslide to fakie, switch 50-50 half Cab out – she entered the jump line with a frontside 720 tailgrab, then a frontside 540 Indy, than managed to survive bonking the cameraman on the final jump as she spun a stylish Cab 720 nosegrab. The POV replay on that last hit is one for the ages, and she posted a score of 90.75 despite the mid-air collision tap.
Japan’s Kokomo Murase was in podium position throughout the contest, with an 85.75 in Run 1 that she improved to 87.75 in Run 3: 50-50 polejam to wallride, frontside rock on the smaller wallride feature, boardslide to fakie, switch boardslide 270 out, switch backside 180 Indy, frontside 720 melon, backside 900 Weddle.
“I’m so happy I stayed strong and finished two runs when there were a lot of falls in the contest today,” Murase said. “We still have some World Cup events ahead, X Games, the Olympics, and even more World Cup events. My goal is always to ride perfect, do my biggest tricks, and return to Japan smiling.”
Eighteen-year-old American rider Courtney Rummel finished 4th, a career-best finish in a pro-level international competition after winning the U.S. National Championships in March 2021. Rummel is from West Bend, Wisconsin and is a member of the U.S. Snowboard Slopestyle Rookie Team.
The next highest finishes from American riders vying for the 4 spots to represent Team U.S.A. in the 2022 Beijing Olympics were Dew Tour rookie Ellie Weiler in 6th, 2020 Dew Tour gold medalist Jamie Anderson in 7th after uncharacteristic falls in all three runs, and Julia Marino in 10th.
Full Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final Results
1.) Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, 97.75
2.) Enni Rukajarvi, 90.75
3.) Kokomo Murase, 87.75
4.) Courtney Rummel, 83.50
5.) Reira Iwabuchi, 81.50
6.) Ellie Weiler, 58.25
7.) Jamie Anderson, 50.25
8.) Tess Coady, 48.57
9.) Annika Morgan, 48.50
10.) Julia Marino, 42.75
11.) Laurie Blouin, 39.75
12.) Hailey Langland, 33.75
13.) Jade Thurgood, 25.00
14.) Ty Schnorrbusch, 22.50
15.) Isabella Gomez, 221.25
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