Snowboard-Austria's Gasser advances in quest for third gold

LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 8 - Snowboarder Anna Gasser of Austria made it through the women's Big Air qualifying round at the Milano Cortina Winter Games on Sunday for the chance to compete for a third consecutive gold medal.

The defending silver and bronze medallists, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand and Kokomo Murase of Japan, also advanced to set up a high-powered clash in Monday's medal contest in the Italian Alps.

All three competitors landed clean jumps at the Livigno Snow Park and finished in the top 12, the cutoff for moving on to the finals. The event was held at night with the course lit by floodlights.

Sadowski-Synnott, 24, led the rankings at the qualifiers, just ahead of 21-year-old Murase. Gasser, 34, ranked ninth.

"My strategy was to show some very clean runs," Gasser said.

"But I have to say I got very nervous throughout the competition because all the ladies were riding so strong. I'm very happy I'm still in the top 12."

The Big Air event features riders launching off a jump and performing an aerial trick involving flips, spins and twists in various directions. Gasser claimed gold in the event in 2018 and 2022.

Sadowski-Synnott said she was pleased with her performance on Sunday and "stoked that the pressure's kind of off my shoulders" after clearing the first hurdle.

"I can finally enjoy being here and prepare for finals," she said.

Murase, one of four Japanese riders to earn a slot in the finals, said she was feeling confident after three successful runs. "I did very well today and performed the tricks I wanted," she said.

The other Japanese riders heading to the women's final are Mari Fukada, Reira Iwabuchi and Momo Suzuki.

Japan's Kira Kimura and Ryoma Kimata won the gold and silver medals in the men's Big Air on Saturday, dethroning champion Su Yiming of China. REUTERS