New Zealand's Sydney-born Zoi Sadowski-Synnott falls just short of another Beijing gold in snowboard big air

New Zealand's Sydney-born Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has narrowly missed out on a second gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

Anna Gasser of Austria executed a massive cab 1260 on her final jump to overtake Sadowski-Synnott and win her second straight Olympic gold medal in women's snowboarding big air.

Gasser, 30, held off a field with an average age of 21, including the 20-year-old Sadowski-Synnott, who last week won her country's first Winter Olympics gold medal in slopestyle.

Australia's Tess Coady, who won bronze in the slopestyle, finished ninth, despite a strong first run of 85.00.

Coady crashed out in both her second and third runs, to fall out of medal contention.

Sadowski-Synnott led Gasser by 0.25 points entering the third round after both landed a pair of double cork 1080s — two off-axis flips with three rotations.

Gasser was assured of silver when she dropped in switch for her final attempt at Big Air Shougang.

She was the first woman to land a cab double cork 1260 in competition when she did it 2019, and she did it again here, the only rider to stomp out a trick with three-and-a-half spins.

Sadowski-Synnott tried to follow with her own 1260, but couldn't hit the landing.

With her big air bronze from 2018, Sadowski-Synnott became the seventh snowboarder with three Olympic medals, a list that includes Shaun White and Jamie Anderson.

Kokomo Murase of Japan earned bronze, with a pair of 1080s. It was the first Olympic medal for the 17-year-old.

Sadowski-Synnott came out of the gate with the best trick of the first round, a perfectly executed frontside double cork 1080 — two off-axis flips with three rotations — that scored her a 93.25.

Gasser was second, at 90 points, after doing the same trick.

The Kiwi followed with a