D’Arcy Waldegrave: Trouble on the slopes

Uh oh. Trouble at mill. Trouble on the slopes. Trouble with five-time Olympic medallist Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. I hasten to add, not trouble of her doing – I don’t believe that she has a troubling bone in her body.

The NZ press has jumped on a perceived error within the judging panel, who placed the Kiwi in silver medal position after her final slopestyle run. It was by a snowflake, a mere .35 of a point behind eventual winner, the Japanese rider Mari Fukada.

Two-time British Olympian Aimee Fuller has told TNT Sports that she believes the final decision was controversial and the judges got it wrong.

“I think there was injustice in the results of today’s women’s slopestyle final, a real shame to see that progression wasn’t rewarded on this instance.”

Progression being the key word here —a buzz word that has long hovered around snowboarding— which is the ability, drive, and necessity to continue to raise the quality and difficulty of tricks in the Slopestyle, Half pipe, and Big Air.

Aimee makes some valid points around the application of scores through each section of Zoi’s run, the final three jumps being the crux of the criticism. Technically sound on the rails from the Kiwi, but progressively superior in the air. Pushing the boundaries successfully and cleanly, a level above the eventual gold medallist.

If I was being picky, Zoi’s dismount on the third rail, the front side lip slide with a 270 pretzel out, was a metre or two early and that may have cost her. But the main gripe from Fuller rests with the glamorous final three jumps.

I’m no judge, I haven't slid in 15 years, and when I did ride, I was a sloppy try hard, so it’s probably a bit rich for me to comment.

This debate around an athlete besmirched can be whittled down to one thing: the vagaries of judging.

As beautiful and gobsmacking as judged events can be, it’s a subjective bunfight and really has no place at an Olympic level.

Highest, fastest, longest, strongest, etc.

Measured not judged.

The athletes know this, are comfortable with this, and understand the complexities and perceived injustices of the process.

Yet they still compete.

They accept, smile, and move on.

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