After sending 141 athletes to 16 Olympics since 1952, New Zealand have for the first time struck gold in the cold. 

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott today became the first Kiwi athlete to be crowned a Winter Games champion, putting down a spectacular third run in the women's slopestyle final to seize gold in the most dramatic of circumstances. 

Standing at the top of the mountain in the silver-medal position as the final competitor, Sadowski-Synnott knew nothing short of her best would be required to reach the top of the podium. 

And that was exactly what the 20-year-old delivered at Genting Snow Park, raising her arms high in the air after landing the second of the back-to-back 1080s that would reap gold. 

At the bottom of her run Sadowski-Synnott was mobbed by American Julie Marino and Australian Tess Coady, the three medallists congratulating one another with the exact colours still to be determined. 

Marino must in particular have been in an anxious mood, having leaped ahead of Sadowski-Synnott and into the gold-medal position with her second run. 

The Kiwi was unable to respond with her second attempt, leaving it all on the line with her third. And once the judges' scores flashed on the screen following a flawless run, Sadowski-Synnott's spot in the record books was secure. 

Her score of 92.88 blew away Marino (87.68) and the rest of the competition, confirming her status as the dominant force in women's snowboarding. 

Julia Marino, Zoi Sadowski Synnott and Tess Coady celebrate after the women's slopestyle finals. Photo / AP 

Sadowski-Synnott is no stranger to Olympic history, four years ago becoming New Zealand's youngest medallist when winning big air bronze in Pyeongchang. 

That was this country's second winter medal and everything that transpired in the four years since suggested she had the potential to claim New Zealand's first gold in Beijing. 

That possibility looked even more likely when the Wanaka local blitzed the field yesterday to seal her passage to the final as the top qualifier, and she remained in that position following a first-run score of 84.51. 

By landing back-to-back 1080s on that initial run, Sadowski-Synnott immediately laid down a gauntlet to the other 11 athletes in the final. 

It wasn't flawless from the Kiwi – there were still some improvements to be made on the rail section at the top of the course – but it did for a time look good enough for gold. 

That was until Marino put down a second run that produced a score of 87.68 and bumped Sadowski-Synnott down a place on the leader board. 

The Kiwi's initial attempt to leap back into the gold-medal position was short-lived, with more issues on the rails early in her second run throwing off her rhythm and soon leading to a minor fall. 

But once the rest of the field had completed their third attempts, Sadowski-Synnott was left with one last chance to soar into history. 

She would not disappoint. 

New Zealand have now won 54 Olympic gold medals but, until today, each had come at the Summer Games. 

Now, 70 years after Kiwis made their winter debut, Sadowski-Synnott has applied a golden glow to the snow. 

- by Kris Shannon, NZ Herald