The Queen
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott
Events: Snowboard big air, snowboard slopestyle.
Olympic history: Bronze in big air (2018), silver in big air (2022), gold in slopestyle (2022).
The oil: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott could retire now and still be 100% guaranteed of being inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.
She also has arguably nothing left to prove. She has the full set of Olympic medals, and she will forever be immortalised as the first New Zealander to win gold at the Winter Olympics.
But instead of slowing down — at 24, the Wanaka star is a relatively senior hand in a sport in which the youngsters often feature — she continues to do amazing things on the snowboard.
Sadowski-Synnott is the reigning slopestyle world champion (she won the title for a third time last year) and fresh off becoming the first New Zealander to win an FIS Crystal Globe for topping the world cup standings, following a long spell out with injury.
Two silvers at the X Games last month indicated the New Zealand team’s star turn was in good form.
Anything can happen at the Olympics but you bet against Sadowski-Synnott at your peril.
The Fearless Freak
Luca Harrington
Events: Freeski big air, freeski slopestyle.
Olympic history: Debut.
The oil: A couple of things strike you about Luca Harrington.
The first is that he comes across as utterly fearless when he launches into the sky and pulls off one of his dazzling, death-defying freeski tricks.
Appearances can be deceiving, of course. Harrington himself has said he is only human when it comes to putting his body on the line.
‘‘Risk is something I’ve had to work hard to overcome. That mental game is what separates the good from the rest.
The second thing about the 21-year-old superstar is that, like older brother and fellow Olympian Ben, he is not what you could call strapping. Harrington is listed at 1.73m, and that seems generous. He almost looks a schoolboy next to some of his competitors, though maybe that compact frame helps him bend his body and skis in crazy ways.
Harrington has been on a run of quite phenomenal form. Back-to-back X Games golds, a big air world championship and New Zealand’s first freeski Crystal Globe suggest he will be hard to stop at Milano Cortina.
The Super Skier
Alice Robinson
Events: Giant slalom, super G.
Olympic history: 35th (2018) and 22nd (2022) in giant slalom, 25th in downhill (2022).
The oil: Annelise Coberger (silver in slalom in 1992) was the first New Zealander to win a Winter Olympic medal. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott was the first to win gold. Nico Porteous — now retired — was the first Kiwi bloke to win gold.
Most historic firsts in sport have been ticked off. But Alice Robinson, the Queenstown skier, has a shot at breaking new ground.
Robinson would dearly love to become the first New Zealander to win gold in an alpine skiing event.
She is good enough, too.
Robinson was in magnificent form last year, becoming the first Kiwi skier to win a medal (silver in giant slalom) in skiing at the world championships, and making the podium in every giant slalom world cup she contested.
While giant slalom is her main gig, she stunned everyone by winning a round of the super G world cup in December.
Robinson stands alone in Italy — all the other New Zealand athletes are in park and pipe disciplines — but she will unite a nation if she can create history.
The Flying Fin
Finley Melville Ives
Event: Freeski halfpipe.
Olympic history: Debut.
The oil: One of two sets of brothers in the team — Finley Melville Ives and twin Cam join the Harringtons, Ben and Luca.
FMI (not sure that has taken off yet) is a quiet, humble character who just seems to love doing crazy things in the halfpipe.
Melville Ives only reached his first world cup podium a a year ago but he quickly backed that up with a spectacular performance to win the freeski halfpipe world title.
The 19-year-old won X Games gold in the superpipe last month and there is every chance he will add Olympic gold.
