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6:04pm - Swiss Burri sneaks into 12th with her second run, scoring 65.55.
With Wakushima withdrawing, that finalises the field for tomorrow's final, with Kiwi Zoi Sadowsko-Synnott on top. Join us for live updates of that medal contest on Sunday.
6pm - Oh no, we're getting word from the course that Cool won't take her second run, so she won't make the final, with an opening score of 34.46.
5:58pm - Only a couple more riders before Cool Wakushima's second run and she will need at least 61.26 to make the final.
5:53pm - German Morgan jumps to 10th with 67.63, bumping Poppe from the final. Peperkamp's 61.26 now on the bubble.
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... Peperkamp (Netherlands) 61.26 12... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 22
5:46pm - Belgian Poppe edges into the top 12 with 56.80 and becomes the one everyone else must beat to make the final.
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... Poppe (Belgium) 56.80 12... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 18
5:39pm - American Marino catapults herself from last, after a disastrous fall at the first obstacle of her opening run, to sixth with 71.78. Onitsuka on the bubble with 50.18.
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... Onitsuka (Japan) 50.18 12... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 18
5:35pm - Canadian Blouin improves from ninth to sixth with 71.55.
5:32pm - Scratch that, Onitsuka quickly responds with 67.00, promoting her to eighth and putting Canadian Baird on the bubble with 49.50.
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... Baird (Canada) 49.50 12... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 18
5:30pm - Japanese Onitsuka improves to 50.18, good for 10th and eliminating Eilertsen from the final. Japanese Iwabuchi now on the bubble with 48.51.
5:21pm - First-round leader Murase into her second attempt and bumps into second with 81.45, just behind Kiwi Sadowski-Synnott. You have to think that might be Zoi's toughest competition finished, but you never know what surprises are in store.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 86.75 1, Murase (Japan) 81.45 2, Rukajarvi (Finland) 78.8 3, Gasser (Austria) 75.00 4, Anderson (USA) 74.35 5... Eilertsen (Norway) 48.35 12... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 18
5:19pm - American Hayley Langland jumps from 23rd to seventh with 68.71, which will slide Ormerod out of the top 12. Eilertson of Norway now on the bubble with 48.35.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 86.75 1, Rukajarvi (Finland) 78.8 2, Gasser (Austria) 75.00 3, Murase (Japan) 74.95 4, Anderson (USA) 74.35 5... Eilertsen (Norway) 48.35 12... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 18
5:11pm - Ormerod completes her second run, hoping to move off the bubble, but 44.01 won't help her. She's still 12th and vulnerable.
5:08pm - Two-time defending champion Anderson into her run, wanting to make a statement to her rivals for gold, but mistiming her final landing. Just 53.26, so she'll have to be satisfied with her first run.
That will put her back in the order for the final, a disadvantage for the woman who has ruled this event for a decade.
5:07pm - Gasser into third, putting some distance between her and the qualifying chasers with 75.00.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 86.75 1, Rukajarvi (Finland) 78.8 2, Gasser (Austria) 75.00 3, Murase (Japan) 74.95 4, Anderson (USA) 74.35 5... Ormerod (GBR) 47.28 12... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 18
5:04pm - Aussie Tess Coady improves into the top five with 71.13, which is an indication of how much improvement we can expect over these second runs.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 86.75 1, Rukajarvi (Finland) 78.8 2, Murase (Japan) 74.95 3, Anderson (USA) 74.35 4, Coady (Australia) 71.13 5... Ormerod (GBR) 47.28 12... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 18
5:01pm - Wow, 86.75 for Zoi! That shoots her to the top and should seal a spot in the final.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 86.75 1, Rukajarvi (Finland) 78.8 2, Murase (Japan) 74.95 e, Anderson (USA) 74.35 4, Blouin (Canada) 66.85 5... Ormerod (GBR) 47.28 12... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 18
4:59pm - Rukajarvi into her second run, hoping to improve on her fifth placing so far... she goes to the top with 78.83! Pressure now on Sadowski-Synnott.
4:55pm - Wakushima bobbles on a landing near the middle of the course and then completely wipes out near the bottom. Her 34.46s has her in 18th after the first round and needs to improve next time out.
Murase (Japan) 74.95 1, Anderson (USA) 74.35 2, Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 73.58 3, Blouin (Canada) 66.85 4, Rukajarvi (Finland) 66.75 5... Ormerod (GBR) 47.28 12... Wakushima (NZ) 34.46s 18
4:51pm - Slovenian Urska Pribosic next, then Cool Wakushima. Ormerod's 47.28 still the cutoff.
Pribosic doesn't land a jump and won't challenge the top 12. Now the second Kiwi...
4:46pm - German Annika Morgan takes a quick selfie at the top of her run, then tucks the phone into her pocket and takes off down hill. Her 29.61 is outside the top 12... maybe leave the phone behind next time.
4:41pm - Brit Katie Ormerod currently occupies 12th with 47.28, which has withstood several runs, with boarders not sticking their landings. Five athletes until Kiwi Cool Wakushima...
4:26pm - Dutchwoman Melissa Pepperkamp records 61.26, good for sixth, but more significantly, she drags the 12th score to 42.60, bypassing the 30s altogether, which seems like a more challenging standard to reach the final.
Still 10 boarders before second Kiwi Cool Wakusima...
4:23pm - Canadian Laurie Blouin - silver medallist at slopestyle four years ago - enters the top four with 66.85.
Murase (Japan) 74.95 1, Anderson (USA) 74.35 2, Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 73.58 3, Blouin (Canada) 66.85 4, Rukajarvi (Finland) 66.75 5... Rong (China) 29.36 12
4:21pm - Japanese Reira Iwabuchi moves into seventh spot with 48.51. Slovak Klaudia Medlova and Croatian Lea Jugovac have scratched from the event.
4:18pm - The early qualifying bar has been set at 23.16, which shouldn't be too difficult, since many of these riders have bailed on their opening runs after minor errors. That standard should rise dramatically over the second round...
4:10pm - Japanese sixth seed Kokomo Murase leapfrogs the field with the 10th run of the day, recording 74.95 to edge ahead of Anderson and ZSS.
Murase (Japan) 74.95 1, Anderson (USA) 74.35 2, Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 73.58 3, Rukajarvi (Finland) 66.75 4, Coady (Australia) 55.98 5
3:57pm - Anderson's 74.35 edges ZSS for the lead, so it will be interesting to see how the Kiwi responds with her second run.
Top five after five runs are:
Anderson (USA) 74.35 1, Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 73.58 2, Rukajarvi (Finland) 66.75 3, Coady (Australia) 55.98 4, Gasser (Austria) 50.71 5
3:53pm - Austrian Anna Gasser was big air gold medallist four years ago and is seeded fourth in this event. Her 50.71 puts her at the tail of the field early, but the top five boarders are at the start of the field.
Next comes two-time defending champion Jamie Anderson from the US, probably Sadowski-Synnott's biggest threat for gold...
3:52pm - Coady's 55.98 doesn't challenge the leaders, but she's third... after three.
3:48pm - Sadowski-Synnott is safely through her routine, described as conservative by commentators. Her 73.58 takes an early lead. Next up, Aussie Tess Coady...
3:46pm - Rukajarvi is a two-time Olympic medallist - bronze at Pyeongchang - and former world champion, seeded third for this event. She records 66.75 to set the early pace.
Next up, Kiwi Zoi Sadowski-Synnott...
2:48pm - Just under an hour until the women's slopetyle qualifying begins and here's the running order...
Enni Rukajarvi (Finland)
Zoi Sadowski Synnott (NZ)
Tess Coady (Australia)
Anna Gasser (Austria)
Jamie Anderson (USA)
Katie Ormerod (Great Britain)
Carola Niemelae (Finland)
Hanne Eilertsen (Norway)
Hailey Langland (USA)
Ge Rong (China)
Lucile Lefevre (France)
Miyabi Onitsuka (Japan)
Reira Iwabuchi (Japan)
Klaudia Medlova (Slovakia)
Lea Jugovac (Croatia)
Melissa Peperkamp (Netherlands)
Julia Marino (USA)
Jasmine Baird (Canada)
Sarka Pancochova (Czech Republic)
Evy Poppe (Belgium)
Courtney Rummel (USA)
Annika Morgan (German)
Kamilla Kozuback (Hungary)
Brooke Voigt (Canada)
Bianca Gisler (Switzerland)
Ariane Burri (Switzerland)
Urska Pribosic (Slovakia)
Cool Wakushima (NZ)
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Kia ora, good afternoon and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics, where snowboarders Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Cool Wakushima become the first Kiwis in action for slopestyle qualifying.
Sadowski-Synnott has drawn second in the opening round, while Wakushima will run 30th and last. Each athlete will get two attempts at the course, with the top 12 progressing to the final on Sunday.
Four years ago, Sadowski-Synnott, 20, became (briefly) New Zealand's youngest-ever Olympic medallist, when she took bronze in the big air event as a 16-year-old. Later that day, teammate Nico Porteous - a few months younger - surpassed that mark.
Since then, she has become one of the world's top snowboarders - arguably the best - with consecutive slopestyle world titles, while finishing second at big air in 2021. Two weeks ago, she rounded out her Olympic preparation with victories in both disciplines at X-Games Aspen, earning her 'Best on Snow' honours.
Sadowski-Synnott certainly has the potential to become New Zealand's first Winter Olympics gold medallist.
Wakushima, 19, is a newcomer to Olympic competition, but is a potential finalist and bound to benefit from the Beijing experience.
Join us at 3:45pm, when Finn Enni Rukajarvi is first to hits the slopes for qualifying...
Cool-headed Sadowski-Synnott brushes off burden of expectation at Beijing
Kiwi snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott is doing her best to ignore the weight of expectation that's followed her into the Beijing Winter Olympics, as she looks to improve on her bronze in 2018.
On Saturday, Sadowski-Synnott and Cool Wakushima begin the Kiwi campaign in the snowboard slopestyle qualifiers.
Unlike four years ago in South Korea, all eyes will be fixed on the 20-year-old, when she kicks off her bid to become New Zealand's first ever Winter Games gold medallist.
"It feels a whole lot different to last time around," Sadowski-Synnott tells Newshub. "But I'm just more excited to hit the course than anything."
In Pyeongchang, Sadowski-Synnott made the snowsports world take notice with her stunning bronze medal in the big air and spate of standout performances leading into Beijing has her firmly among the favourites for gold.
"Coming into these Games, I guess there's a bit more expectation from everyone,but I try not to think about it too much," she says. "I know so many of the girls are absolutely ripping at the moment and I've just got to focus on myself."
Happy to acknowledge the ever-present pressure, she's determined not to let it weigh on her, as she prepares for her second Games.
"The expectation is there, but we just focus on her and her snowboarding, and really keep it simple like that," says coach Sean Thompson. "Just think about the run and think about the tricks."
That approach has certainly worked in Sadowski-Synnott's favour at recent competitions.
In her build up to the Games, she won silver at the Mammoth Mountain World Cup in the United States, followed by double X-Games gold in the slopestyle and big air.
"I'm feeling super confident on my snowboard and I'm stoked with how I'm riding, so good flow coming into this event," she adds.
