That's the spirit, Dad

Wanaka snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott's father "wasn't disappointed at all" his daughter did not win at the annual ESPY Awards in Los Angeles yesterday.

The 18-year-old had been nominated for Best Female Action Sports Athlete but American snowboarder Chloe Kim won the award.

Watching it live on TV with supporters (from left) Shannon Turner and Lizzie Burdon at Wanaka's Water Bar, Sean Synnott said he had thought it was "probably a long shot" that Zoi would win.

"I was actually more focused on getting the FaceTime videos and seeing what the girls [Zoi and her mother Robin Sadowski-Synnott] were looking like in their dresses than whether she won," he said.