Too snowy for Zoi: Snowboard final postponed

Heavy snow has scrambled the Winter Olympics schedule in the Italian town of Livigno as organisers postponed the women's snowboard slopestyle medal event and reworked the start times for freestyle skiing aerials.

Organisers cancelled the women's slopestyle final scheduled for Tuesday afternoon (local time) at the Livigno Snow Park and said they would move it to another day.

Slopestyle involves snowboarders navigating metal rails and other obstacles.

Wānaka's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, the defending Olympic gold medallist and reigning world champion, is favourite for the final after leading the qualifiers. One of her main rivals is expected to be Japan's Murase Kokomo.

The New Zealand Olympic Committee said Sadowski-Synnott and coach Sean Thompson were in good spirits, taking the chance for a few quick hits in the snow.

The final has been rescheduled for 2.30am on Thursday (NZ time).

Meanwhile, officials decided it was too dangerous to start the qualifying round for women's aerials on Tuesday morning (local time) under a steady snowfall, which could limit visibility and impact speed on the steep jump at the Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park.

They rescheduled the event for the afternoon as workers used shovels to keep the buildup of snow on the course to a minimum. Temperatures hovered at a chilly -6°C.

Competitors in the women's aerials qualifying had completed practice rounds just before organisers postponed the event's start. The field includes defending champion Xu Mengtao, of China, and reigning silver medallist Hanna Huskova, a Belarusian who is competing as a neutral athlete.

- additional reporting RNZ