Wānaka’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (23) has claimed the 10th World Cup podium of her career, with a second place finish at the LAAX Open Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup in Switzerland overnight NZT.

The Olympic triple medallist and current snowboard slopestyle Olympic champion has been recovering from an ankle injury and said it meant everything to be back competing.

“There is nothing like competing when there’s perfect weather out and everyone is on point, so we were all feeding off each other and it was sick,” Zoi said. 

“It means everything to me to be back competing at a high level, [my ankle] took so much longer than expected to come right but I am so stoked to be snowboarding.”

The LAAX Open is regarded as the pinnacle slopestyle World Cup event of the season, with almost 100 snowboarders on the start list.

Zoi dropped into her first run switch, putting down two technical rail tricks before heading into the jump section where she laced back-to-back 900s on the first two jumps and finished strongly on the quarter pipe feature with a backside air. She was the first athlete of the day to put down a top to bottom run, scoring a 75.36.

Sitting in second place heading into her second and final run, Zoi knew she needed to add something special to challenge Mia Brookes of Great Britain for first place. She upgraded her second jump to a huge switch backside 1260, which marked the first time any woman has landed that trick in a slopestyle competition. The judges increased her score, but a couple of bobbles in the top section of her run meant she was unable to top Mia’s first run score and remained in second position.

“I am super hyped on the switch backside 1260, that was the first time I have landed it in a slopestyle competition,” Zoi said.

Current Snowboard Slopestyle World Champion Mia Brookes (17) took the win for the first time in her career at the LAAX Open, with Kokomo Murase of Japan rounding out the podium in third.

LAAX Open Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup Podium. [L-R] Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL) 2nd, Mia Brookes (GBR) 1st, Kokomo Murase (JPN) 3rd. PHOTO: Stadler / LAAX Open

See the full results here.

Dane Menzies and Lyon Farrell represented NZ in the men’s finals, finishing in seventh and eighth respectively.

Zoi will next be in action at the invite only Aspen Winter X Games this weekend (January 24-26).