While Zoi's star continues to rise, the hopes of two team-mates skidded downs the slopes. Our day three rundown of the fortunes of our female athletes at the Winter Olympics.
Just 24 hours after the joy of Zoi Sadowski-Synnott's sublime gold, two Kiwi women experienced the painful flipside of competing at a Winter Olympics.
Although inspired by their team-mate's historic snowboard slopestyle victory, neither Alice Robinson nor Margaux Hackett came close to replicating her success - or anywhere near their own high expectations on snow sport's biggest stage.
New Zealand team flagbearer Robinson, who lined up as a real medal prospect in the women’s giant slalom, struggled with the challenging steep and icy start of the 'Ice River' course at the Yanqing Alpine Centre yesterday. Although she managed to stay on her skis on both runs - unlike many of her rivals - she skidded to 22nd equal overall.
And Olympic debutant Hackett couldn’t reach the final of the freeski big air – landing only one of her three jumps, as she battled with the leg injury suffered in a training crash on her first day on Beijing snow.
In fact, Hackett revealed she wasn't even sure she’d be able to line up at the top of the Big Air Shougang jump, such was her pain.
“Honestly, I’m just so stoked to have landed something out there today, it’s been a struggle the last few days,” she told Sky Sport after her competition ended.
But here’s the good news – that won’t be the last we see of these two talented women in Beijing. In Hackett’s case, she still has her favoured freeski slopestyle on Sunday, and she’s confident that with a rest day on Tuesday, she’ll be okay to ski again.
As for Robinson, she’s entered in the Super G on Friday – but hinted she could yet line up in another event in the alpine programme.
Robinson, who carried the New Zealand flag at the opening ceremony alongside Finn Bilous, was shaky from the opening gates of her first run in the morning, and couldn't find her rhythm anywhere down the 1km course. While she stayed upright on her skis, as others skidded and fell, the time she lost realistically ruled her out of a place on the podium.
A dejected Robinson told Sky Sport after that first run she struggled with her equipment and getting a grip on the snow, which she described as ‘interesting’.
“It’s quite different to what we usually race on so I think it’s catching a few people out,” the three-time World Cup gold medallist said.
More than a few as it turned out. A quarter of the 80-strong field didn't finish their first run - including two-time Olympic gold medallist American Michaela Shiffrin, who shockingly fell just seconds into her campaign, abruptly ending her chances of defending her Olympic title.
“I couldn’t really find anything the whole way down, which was really tough," Robinson said. "But you know, it just happens like that sometimes."
Going into the second run in 25th place - 2.99s off gold - Robinson stuttered again at the start, sliding out of turns and losing too much time. Her run was fractionally faster than her first, but still frustrating. Swede Sara Hector became the Olympic champion after dominating both runs.
Robinson, 35th in this event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games as a 16-year-old old, now has to stay "focused and positive" for the Super G.
Making her Olympic debut, Hackett was upbeat and honest after her failing to stick her landings in her first two jumps of the freeski big air - losing a ski each time before finally pulling off a clean switch right side 900 in her last attempt.
Her score of 65 was the 10th best score in the third run (after scoring nines in the first two) and she ended up 22nd overall. But she revealed how close she’d come to pulling the pin on the event.
“I had a crash on the first day of training, so I’ve been through a lot of pain the last few days,” the half-Kiwi half-French skier said.
“I didn’t actually do much training. I was able to do a little bit yesterday, just enough to feel comfortable to compete today, so I wasn’t actually sure that I was going to be able to be here and start.
“So I’m really happy that the physios helped me, and everyone on the New Zealand team’s been really supportive and helpful."
Hackett is no stranger to crashes in her day job – she’s suffered concussions in the past that led to struggles with depression and insomnia.
“Now I’m really looking forward to slopestyle; big air is just a bonus,” she said.
Images of the day
The good news
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott made headlines around the globe, and her Instagram account had exploded by at least 35,000 followers to 120,000 - a day after clinching New Zealand’s first Winter Olympics gold (helped no doubt by her 'What the F***' selfie post on her story straight after her victory).
If you want to see exactly how the Wānaka athlete nailed her spectacular final run, the New York Times have made a terrific frame-by-frame breakdown of her three-jump sequence.
What the??
A 15-year-old Russian figure skater, nicknamed Miss Perfect, is certain to be the darling of these Winter Olympics.
Kamila Valieva became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at an Olympics yesterday as she propelled ROC to gold in the teams figure skating competition. (She actually went and landed two quads during her freeskate routine, just proving it was no fluke – but fell at her third crack).
Valieva, who wants to be a psychologist, is already being described by many judges as the greatest female skater in history, according to The Independent.
Who’s up next
Alice Robinson will be the next Kiwi female on the slopes when she lines up in the Super G on Friday.
But in the meantime, Campbell Wright will become only the second Kiwi to compete in the biathlon at the Winter Games, with the first of three events – the 20km - on Tuesday night.
After two fourths in speed skating in Pyeongchang, Peter Michael turns his focus to the 1500m event in Beijing at 11.30pm Tuesday.
