Winter Olympic medallists Zoi Sadowski-Synott and Nico Porteous managing the pressures to perform at Beijing 2022

Winter Olympic medallists Zoi Sadowski-Synott and Nico Porteous managing the pressures to perform at Beijing 2022

Congratulations on being selected to your second Olympic Winter Games. What does it mean to you?

Nico: It's an honour to be honest. It’s still sinking in. The past four years have been an absolute whirlwind. Four years later and the boy is older. To wear the fern on my chest and represent my country is incredible and it comes with a lot of pride.

Zoi: It feels amazing. I have just worked so hard in the last four years coming out of PyeongChang and to represent the fern, and be a Kiwi, I'm super proud.

What does it mean to you to pull that jumper back on?

Nico: I think it's just pride and honour as I am following in the footsteps of people that have competed and represented New Zealand in previous years. You just put it on, and you feel that wave of honour and pride wash over you.

Zoi: It means a lot. The fern on my chest feels special. I feel like I'm representing the whole of New Zealand, not just myself. It feels like I'm representing something bigger than me.

What have you been working on? What are you planning for Games Time?

Nico: The halfpipe is up and running, Cardrona have done an amazing job. First week back and I’ve just been working on getting back into the swing of things and finding my feet again. However, over the next three or four weeks I will look to get into trying some new things. I am trying to figure everything out and play to my strengths. See what's working and see what's not.

Zoi: Working on tracks. I have tracks that I've been wanting to do for years and hopefully I can get them by the time the Olympic Games come around. It would be good to have them in the bag so I can put it down when it matters. The women's snowboarding scene is crazy right now, everyone's progressed so much since the last Olympics. I'm sure it's going to be a crazy show with Jamie Anderson defending her gold medal.

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You said you're not putting too much pressure on yourself. Tell us about that?

Nico: I'm not really putting too much pressure on getting results. I just want to go out there and ski, compete at my best and really enjoy it. I'm just going to do everything I can to make sure that I'm skiing the best I ever have on the day.

Zoi: Coming into these games after winning bronze the last time around I feel a bit of pressure. I love the pressure now that I'm one to watch; because I've done so well in the last few years, so I am stoked with that. I have been working with heaps of people to make sure that the pressure doesn't get too hectic and when it comes to performance time and that I can put it down when it counts.

Why do you love it? Why do you do it?

Nico: It’s my passion. I have been doing it since I was super young. It still gives me the same enjoyment as when I was a kid, being up there on the mountain and doing it every single day.

How amped are you to compete at the Winter Olympics and show the world what you can do?

Zoi: I'm super excited and it’s come around so quick. I can't wait to compete again at the Olympics, on the world's biggest sporting stage. After watching everyone compete in Tokyo, I'm super stoked to get out there and go.