At X Games, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott And Tess Coady Prove Australasia Is Taking Over Women’s Snowboarding

The first event of X Games Aspen 2023 is in the books.

On Friday, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, 21, successfully defended her 2022 X Games women’s snowboard slopestyle gold medal.

Meanwhile, with her silver finish—and her first X Games medal—Tess Coady, 22, became the first Australian to earn an X Games medal of any color in the event.

Sadowski-Synnott’s gold marks the first time a slopestyle rider has won back-to-back X Games gold medals since Silje Norendal (2014-15).

To a casual follower of women’s snowboarding, X Games picked up right where the 2022 Winter Olympics left off, as the two women from Down Under also found themselves on the podium in those Games.

In Beijing, Sadowski-Synnott became New Zealand’s first-ever Winter Olympics gold medalist, and Coady took bronze. (At Vancouver 2010, Torah Bright became the first Australian snowboarder—and the fourth Aussie overall—to win an Olympic gold medal.)

But the 2022-23 snowboarding World Cup season has already gotten underway, and those who follow the sport more closely have seen what these women have been doing since Beijing 2022.

In the Big Air World Cup event in Kreischberg, Austria, on January 14, Sadowski-Synnott became the first woman to land a switch backside 1260 Weddle grab. Look for her to work that trick into her X Games big air run this weekend, if the conditions allow. The snow and low visibility that marked Friday’s slopestyle contest aren’t ideal for big tricks.

At X Games Aspen last year, Sadowski-Synnott made history when she became the first woman to land back-to-back 1080s in a run (ski or snowboard), which helped her clinch gold.

There’s no question Bright paved the way (though in halfpipe) for female Aussie riders, and slopestyle rider Christy Prior did the same for Kiwis.

But Coady and Sadowski-Synnott are quickly establishing themselves as the riders today that girls from Australasia can emulate if they want to pursue snowboarding. And with neither having celebrated her 23rd birthday yet, there’s a lot of time to cement their legacies.

“It’s sick, it’s a really nice feeling but it’s kind of hard to believe sometimes because I still look at all the other riders and I still feel like I’m one of those girls, always being inspired, so it’s a crazy thing,” Coady said after winning bronze Friday. “It’s hard to feel like you’re that person.”

“Coming from Down Under, you feel like a bit of an underdog,” Sadowski-Synnott said Friday. “We snowboard when everyone else has summer, and that’s pretty special growing up. With the likes of Christy Prior and Torah Bright growing up, there was kind of no question that there were some of us coming through.”

Sadowski-Synnott also had words of praise for Coady after the two traded places on the podium Friday before the Kiwi’s walk-off victory. Ahead of her fourth and final run, Sadowski-Synnott sat in silver-medal position. To earn gold, she’d have to bump Coady, which—after a bit of suspenseful deliberation from the judges—she did. (Japan’s Kokomo Murase took bronze.)

“Tess is such an amazing rider and I’m stoked to be able to compete against her because she’s a really good friend,” Sadowski Synnott said.

Coady’s best run included a switch backside 900 into a backside double 1080 on the last two jumps. Though Sadowski-Synnott didn’t change up the tricks on her fourth and final run—going backside 900 and switch backside 900 on the final two jumps—she did clean it up, executing her rail tricks perfectly.

That likely factored into the judges’ decision to bump her up ahead of Coady for gold, even though Sadowski-Synnott didn’t have a 1080 this time around.

One reason why the ladies from Down Under have become more dominant in snowboarding in recent years? Sadowski-Synnott attributes it in part to the ability to be on snow year-round. She’s been riding back-to-back seasons for almost eight years—June to October in New Zealand, then traveling to the Northern Hemisphere for competitions.

“Then you come overseas and get to enjoy the amazing snow they have over here, and it makes you feel really grateful you get to do this for a job,” the Kiwi said.

In addition to her slopestyle prowess, Sadowski-Synnott is quickly establishing herself as one of the world’s best female backcountry and big-mountain riders. She’ll be competing in this year’s Natural Selection Tour, now in its third year, in March.

There are four slopestyle events left in the FIS Snowboard World Cup season, including the world championships. At the end of February, Dew Tour will also provide another opportunity for Sadowski-Synnott and Coady to rack up more slopestyle hardware.