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Ezra Shaw / Getty Images
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott earned a gold medal in her last race after crashing in the first two.
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has jumped from last to first to create history as the first person to defend her slopestyle snowboarding title at the World Championships.
The 19-year-old from Wānaka was out of the medal competition after crashing in her first two races, but kept her nerve during her latest attempt to produce a winning score of 85.95 at Aspen on Saturday (NZT).
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Sadowski-Synnott noted that he was preparing for a high score with a technical run at the top of the field before tying in a sleek switch back 900, front side 720 and backside double 1080 on the jumps.
“I fell in those first two races and I was pretty bummed, but I knew that if I landed my race I would have a good chance of taking first place,” Sadowski-Synnott said.
“Everything depended on me. He knew he could do those tricks. He was just trying to do it so he could defend the title. I’m so excited. “
American Jamie Anderson topped the standings with 81.10 before Sadowski-Synnott’s final race, but the two-time Olympic champion had to settle for silver.
