Kiwi snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has stayed on course to become New Zealand's first Winter Olympic gold medallist, finishing top qualifier for the women's slopestyle final on Sunday.
Arriving at Beijing as top seed in a field of 30, the high-flyer has lived up to that billing, establishing the top score of 86.75 over the opening rounds of competition, more than five points clear of nearest opponent Kokomo Murase of Japan.
The top 12 progress to Sunday's final, where Sadowski-Synnott will enjoy the advantage of competing last and the knowledge of what she will need to beat her opposition to finish top of the podium.
"I'm so stoked to put both my runs down and make it through to finals," she says. "We'll see if it holds.
"I really just wanted to put down a run I was stoked with, and do with some style and flow. That last run, I felt like I finally got there.
"Coming into tomorrow, I've just got to take it step by step and keep my head in it."
Sadowski-Synnott arrived at the Olympics off the back of double victories at X-Games Aspen and a 'Best on Snow' performance, confirming her favouritism for both slopestyle and big air competitions.
"I definitely celebrated afer X-Games, but came back down to earth pretty quick, because I had this coming up - I feel like I've completely forgotten about it now."
Four years ago at Pyeongchang, Sadowski-Synnott missed the slopestyle final by one spot, finishing 13th, but feels more assured with added experience.
"I felt such a crazy, different feeling dropping in this time, compared to last time," she says. "I'm just stoked to be able to put my runs down in qualies, which I didn't get the chance to do last time."
Drawing the second run of qualifying, Sadowski-Synnott wasted little time showing her intentions, setting an early standard of 73.58. She was surpassed by American star Jamie Anderson - the two-time defending champion - and Murase to sit third after the opening round.
Performance lifted dramatically for the second round, with Finn Enni Rakajarvi raising the bar to 78.83, before Sadowski-Synnott immediately responded with her best effort of the day. Murase edged ahead of Rakajarvi, but Anderson had to be content with fifth.
Kiwi Cool Wakushima won fans for her name, but could not put it among the final dozen, stumbling during her first run and aggravating a tailbone injury that saw her unable to return for her second.
"Weather's looking a lot better for tomorrow," says Sadowski-Synnott. "I think it's meant to get a bit warmer, which always helps.
"It's going to be a pretty good final and everyone will bring their best tricks, so it should be interesting."
Olympic Slopestyle Qualifying
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 86.75 1, Murase (Japan) 81.45 2, Rukajarvi (Finland) 78.83 3, Gasser (Austria) 75.00 4, Anderson (USA) 74.35 5... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 22
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