Gold medal winner Anna Gasser of Austria poses during a venue ceremony for the women’s snowboard big air finals of the 2022 Winter Olympics on Tuesday in Beijing. Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
BEIJING — Anna Gasser of Austria executed a massive cab 1260 on her final jump to overtake Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand and win her second straight Olympic gold medal in women’s snowboarding big air Tuesday.
The 30-year-old Gasser held off a field with an average age of 21, including the 20-year-old Sadowski Synnott, who last week won her country’s first Winter Olympics gold medal, in slopestyle.
Sadowski Synnott led Gasser by 0.25 points entering the third round after both landed a pair of double cork 1080s – two off-axis flips with three rotations.
Gasser was assured of silver when she dropped in switch for her final attempt at Big Air Shougang. She was the first woman to land a cab double cork 1260 in competition when she did it 2019, and she did it again here, the only rider to stomp out a trick with 3 1/2 spins.
Sadowski Synnott tried to follow with her own 1260 but couldn’t hit the landing. With her big air bronze from 2018, Sadowski Synnott became the seventh snowboarder with three Olympic medals, a list that includes Shaun White and Jamie Anderson.
Kokomo Murase of Japan earned bronze with a pair of 1080s. It was the first Olympic medal for the 17-year-old.
Sadowski Synnott came out of the gate with the best trick of the first round, a perfectly executed frontside double cork 1080 – two off-axis flips with three rotations – that scored her a 93.25. Gasser was second at 90 points after doing the same trick.
She followed with a backside double cork 1080, which she landed clean for 83.75 points and the top spot entering the final round – 0.25 ahead of Gasser.
Reira Iwabuchi of Japan attempted the first triple cork – three off-axis flips – in women’s snowboarding history and briefly appeared to have it landed before spinning out halfway down the landing. Her competitors still erupted in excitement, swarming her at the bottom of the jump as she waited for the judges’ scores. Judges awarded her 37 points.
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