Sadowski-Synnott and Kleveland take Aspen 2021 slopestyle golds

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott wins Slopestyle Gold at 2021 Aspen FIS Snowboard World Championships, at Aspen’s Buttermilk Mountain, CO, USA, on March 13, 2021. Image credit: / @ussnowboardteam / US Ski & Snowboard

Saturday, March 13, 2021

The first day of medal competition at the Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships took place under near-perfect spring conditions on Friday at Aspen’s Buttermilk Mountain, where we witnessed Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand and Marcus Kleveland of Norway earn slopestyle World Championships gold medals in a dramatic day of action.

Sadowski-Synnott first rider ever to win back-to-back World Championship slopestyle golds

Due to challenging weather during qualifications and a double-up judging format for the men there, the jury in Aspen elected to send 16 men through to a two-run finals to give more riders the opportunity for a more intensive section-by-section judging format. The women, however, qualified with the scheduled program and judging format, meaning that the top eight women would drop in on a three-run finals and that, for a change, their third run would be the final one of the competition.

This, as it turned out, set things up for one of the most dramatic World Championships gold medal wins we’ve ever seen, as defending Utah 2019 World Champion and top-qualifier Sadowski-Synnott would have to put one down in her very last run of the competition if she wanted to repeat as gold medallist, after she fell in both of her first two attempts.

And put one down she did. With the USA’s Jamie Anderson sitting in top position with a score of 81.10, Sadowski-Synnott dropped in and proceeded to go switch boardslide to regular, bluntslide 270 out, and then a perfect front boardslide 450 out on the canon rail. Through the jumps she then stomped the switch backside 900 weddle grab that had been giving her problems earlier in the competition, into a huge frontside 720 melon, and then a perfect backside 1080 weddle grab on the final kicker to earn herself a score of 85.95 and to become the first rider ever to defend a slopestyle FIS World Snowboard Championships title.

“I fell in those first two runs and I was pretty bummed,” the understated Sadowski-Synnott said after her winning score came in, “But I knew if I landed my run I’d have a good chance to take the top spot. It was a luxury to drop in last and I knew I could do those tricks and I just tried to get it done so I could defend the title. I’m so stoked.”

With World Championships gold really the only accolade in snowboarding that Anderson does not have to her credit, she would be forced to settle once again for silver - matching her result from the Utah 2019 event two years ago.

However, even after watching a possible gold medal taken away by Sadowski-Synnott’s final run, Anderson was gracious in her post-competition interview.

"Although I wasn't able to connect my 1080, I am genuinely so happy for Zoi (Sadowski-Synnott)," said Anderson. “We've been battling all year, and that last run she put down was flawless. The future (of women's snowboarding) is in good hands. I am proud of her and all the girls."

The bonze medal, meanwhile, went to Australia’s Tess Coady, as the final podium results mirrored the results from Wednesday’s women’s qualification. The 20 year-old put down a score of 78.13 to join the great Torah Bright as the only Australian riders to earn World Championships slopestyle medals.

Kleveland stomps two best runs of the day on injured leg

Over on the the men’s side there was also plenty of drama, although in this case one of the key plot twists played out behind the scenes, as Marcus Kleveland crashed in training and was seeing limping away from the Aspen 2021 slopestyle course and headed towards the parking lot.

However, come time for his first run, there he was at the top of the course, slapping a high five to his coach, dropping in, and putting down an absolute heater of a run while showing no signs of the injury that looked like it might keep the top qualifier of heat one from making his second career World Championships start.

While his first run was excellent - putting him into top spot with a score of 86.86 that would not be beat by the first 14 riders of run two - it was in his second and final run that Kleveland really threw it down.

Starting things off with a cab hardware 270 on to 270 off, Kleveland then stomped a boardslide to 270 off on the tall flat bar, to frontside bluntslide 450 off on the canon rail. On into the jumps is where the 21 year-old really stepped it up from his first run, putting down a switch backside 1260 melon, then going back-to-back with a backside 1620 melon into a cab 1620 frontside grab to become the first and only rider into the 90s on the day with a score of 90.66.

When top qualifier Leon Vockensburger fell on the final hit of what was shaping up to be a huge run for him, it was clear that the Aspen 2021 men’s slopestyle title would go to Kleveland.

“I had a hard impact on my leg (in practice) and my leg didn’t really feel good after it,” said Kleveland, taking us through his day, “I was about to go take an x-ray, but I wanted to try it out, so I went back up and did the contest. I’m happy about it now. It feels amazing (to be World Champion). Just to be back in Aspen, one of my favourite places to be for sure, I like the vibes. The course was running amazing today too. Good vibes.”

Second place on the day went to Sebastien Toutant of Canada, as the reigning Olympic big air gold medallist put down an exceptional first run for a score of 82.53 and the silver medal in what was actually his first World Championships start. Toutant may have been on his way to challenging Kleveland with his second run, but crashed on his final hit and had to settle for silver.

Finally, the bronze medal for the men went to the rider that some refer to as “Your favourite snowboarder’s favourite snowboarder,” as Rene Rinnekangas of Finland brought his inimitable style to the World Championships stage and earned a score of 82.51 - just .02 back of Toutant - to grab the last spot on the podium.

Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships action continues on Saturday, where we move to the halfpipe for finals beginning at 13:00 MST.

TRICK LIST

WOMEN:

•GOLD - Zoe Sadowski Synnott (NZL): switch boardslide – boardslide 270 – blunt 450 – sw bs 900 mute – fs 720 Melon - bs 1080 mute

•SILVER - Jamie Anderson (USA): backlip – boardslide 270 – blunt 270 – bs Rodeo 540 Melon – cab double 900 mute – fs 720 mute

•BRONZE - Tess Coady (AUS): switch boardslide – boardslide – fs 180/sw bs 360 – sw bs 900 stalefish – bs 720 mute – fs 720 melon to tail

MEN:

•GOLD - Marcus Kleveland (NOR): cab hardway 270/270 – boardslide 270 – blunt 450 – swbs 1260 Melon – bs 1620 Melon – cab 1620 indy

•SILVER - Sebastien Toutant (CAN): sw hardway 270 – cab 180/bs 360 – blunt 450 – cab 1260 tail – fs double 1080 mute – bs triple 1440 indy

•BRONZE - Rene Rinnekangas (FIN): Melon transfer – lipslide 270 – fs 270 – blunt 450 – sw double bs Rodeo nose – Bs 1620 Melon – cab 1440 nose

QUICK LINKS

•Full results

•Photos