Julia Marino of the United States reacts after crossing the finish line as she competes in the women’s snowboard final during the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
Marco Bertorello / AFP via Getty Images
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Marco Bertorello / AFP via Getty Images
Julia Marino of the United States reacts after crossing the finish line as she competes in the women’s snowboard final during the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
Marco Bertorello / AFP via Getty Images
BEIJING – American skier Julia Marino won silver in the women’s snowboarding final at China’s Genting Snow Park H&S Stadium on Sunday. Second place gives the US its first medal in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
“I’m feeling a lot of emotions. Right now it’s pure excitement and happiness. It’s been a great day,” Marino said after her test. “The weather was perfect. The course was perfect. The girls rode well. I couldn’t have asked for a better final. That’s exactly what it should be like.”
Marino, 24, failed in the first and third runs, but nailed second place to a silver medal with 87.68 points. Her second at the course, in which she masterfully navigated the course’s tracks and ramps, put her at the top of the leaderboard.
“It’s a race I’ve wanted to leave behind for a long time,” she said. “This season, I don’t necessarily have to put that down and to do it here means completely different than anywhere else. I’m happy with that.”
Marino had to wait for “tense” at the end of the track as her competitors one by one tried – and failed – to knock her out of the top spot.
That was until New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski Synnott finally took the course on her final run.
Kiwi flies to the finish line with her arms in the air – knowing her third run will put her on the podium even before her score is announced. Her excellent run propelled her to the top with 92.88 points.
“I had a pretty crazy mindset on my last run and I knew I had to give up the X Games to win the gold, and I just took all I had and tried. achieve it,” says Sadowski Synnott. “Walking into that last jump, I knew I was going too fast, and in the air, I wanted to do whatever I could to land.”
Julia Marino (L) of the USA and Tess Coady (R) of Australia greet Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand after her last attempt in the women’s snowboard final.
Ben Stanstall / AFP via Getty Images
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Ben Stanstall / AFP via Getty Images
Julia Marino (L) of the USA and Tess Coady (R) of Australia greet Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand after her last attempt in the women’s snowboard final.
Ben Stanstall / AFP via Getty Images
In third place is Australia’s Coady Tess.
In a show of sportsmanship, each of the three women cheered for each other. After Sadowski Synnott finished the final run and the results were announced, Tess and Marino ran out to hug each other.
Then each rival has only good things to say about the other.
Marino said: “We are all good friends, and it means a lot to me to see them really drive at their best. “[Sadowski Synnott] She’s the best racer right now and she’s making us all step up our levels. She is a great person and a great driver. I love sharing the podium with her. “
Also competing on Sunday was Marino’s American teammate Jamie Anderson. A third gold medal was dodged by the 31-year-old, who faltered in his final run to finish ninth. Hailey Langland, also of America, 21, was wiped out in her last race and came in 11th.
Anderson previously won women’s skateboarding in the 2014 and 2018 Olympics, becoming the first female skier to win two Olympic gold medals. She’s still working her way up to becoming the first U.S. winter athlete to win three gold medals in a row when Anderson will compete in the women’s grand prix later this month.
NPR’s Tom Goldman contributed to this report.
