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Kiwi snowboarders storm into Winter Olympics finals, Robinson finishes agonisingly short
Sport Nation • February 16th, 2026 8:30 am
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott | Photo: Photosport
Kiwis Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Dane Menzies have made a statement in their respective heats for the women's and men's snowboarding slopestyle at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
On Monday morning (NZ time), both Sadowski-Synnott and Menzies were the top qualifiers in the event, booking their place in the final.
Sadowski-Synnott is the women's defending champion, having won gold at the Beijing games four years ago - the first time a Kiwi had topped the podium at a Winter Olympics.
She qualified with the highest score of 88.08 in her second run, while Menzies set the pace for the men with 86.06.
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott on winning big air silver at Milano Cortina 2026 | Scotty & Izzy
The women's final takes place at 1am, Wednesday, while the men's is set for 12:30am, Thursday.
The outcome wasn't as positive for alpine skier Alice Robinson. The Queenstown product was hindered by a collision with some padding, which ultimately proved painfully costly, as she finished in fourth place, just 0.18s shy of the joint silver medallists.
Robinson collapsed to the snow when she realised she'd come up short, with the result meaning she'd be leaving her third Winter Olympics without a medal.
It's a hugely disappointing outcome for the 24-year-old, who had been in excellent form leading into the Games, winning New Zealand's first medal at the alpine world championships.
