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8:28pm - Collins tries to improve on his second jump, but again collapses on landing and that will be the end of his Olympics.
8:26pm - Collins now sits 22nd and needs something like 68 to crack the top 12 at this point. He's up next...
8:08pm - At the end of the second round, Collins sits 18th and would need a 50.75 or better to crack the top 12 qualifiers.
7:44pm - Collins into his second run, but spins out on his landing. That won't help him, with several of his rivals improving in the meantime.
He scores 14.24 and will need something significantly better next time to progress.
Parrot (Canada) 164.75 1, Gerard (USA) 155.50 2, Su (China) 155.25 3... Collins (NZ) 85.50 8... McMorris (Canada) 81.50 12
7:19pm - After one round of qualifying, Collins sits 11th with his 71.25, which is a solid start, with several higher-ranked rivals now under pressure with their last two attempts.
Su (China) 92.50 1, Kleveland (Norway) 87.75 2, Kunitake (Japan) 83.75 3... Collins (NZ) 71.25 11... Sandbech (Norway) 69.50
6:49pm - Collins lands safely on his first attempt and slots into seventh with 71.25.
Su (China) 92.50 1, Kleveland (Norway) 87.75 2, Kunitake (Japan) 83.75 3... Collins (NZ) 71.25... Lauzi (Italy) 23.75 12
6:48pm - Chinese Su currently leading with 92.50, Swede Niklas Mattson can't nail his landing and Collins is next...
6:33pm - Men's snowboard big air qualifying has just kicked off, with Kiwi Tiarn Collins drawn 13th in a field of 29. Jumping first, Canadian Max Parrot has set down the early standard with 78.25.
5:16pm - Hackett can't improve on her 54.93 first-up effort at freeski slopestyle, leaving her in 16th and out of the final.
5pm - Poppe can't land her last jump and that's the end of qualifying, with Kiwi Sadowski-Synnott topping the field, on track for her second gold medal at Beijing. Next up, Tiarn Collins in men's big air qualifying at 6:30pm (NZ time).
Meanwhile, Hackett is just a few athletes away for her second effort at freeski slopstyle qualifying, currently sitting 16th, with 12 progressing.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 176.50 1, Murase (Japan) 171.00 2, Iwabuchi (Japan) 158.50 3... Langland (USA) 127.50 12
4:52pm - German Morgan scores 68.00, which moves her into eighth and bumps Gisler from the final. American Langland is now on the bubble...
4:46pm - Lefevre completes her qualifying effort with another onesie/wave comb and gets her best score of the day.
4:40pm - Japanese Murase scores 86.00 and moves into second, behind Sadowski-Synnott and ahead of teammate Iwabuchi.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 176.50 1, Murase (Japan) 171.00 2, Iwabuchi (Japan) 158.50 3... Gisler (Switzerland) 113.50 12
4:36pm - Canadian Blouin produces 88.25 and leaps into fourth spot, breaking up the Japanese contingent. Aussie Coady has 62.25, good for sixth.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 176.50 1, Iwabuchi (Japan) 158.50 2, Murase (Japan) 157.75 3... Gisler (Switzerland) 127.25 12
4:30pm - Czech Poncochova scores 60.25 and edges past Anderson into the top 12, eliminating one of Sadowski-Synnott's biggest medal rivals from contention.
4:27pm - Swiss teen Gisler, who was sitting on the bubble at 12th, improves with 63.75 to leapfrog Anderson, who is now in the danger spot.
4:21pm - Hackett has been edged outside the bubble for qualifying in freeski slopestyle, sitting 13th after the opening round, but has another attempt to come.
4:18pm - American Jamie Anderson, the GOAT, produces a superb third effort, after two wipeouts, and somehow sneaks into the top 12 with 89.75. Let's see how that stands up...
4:14pm - Sadowski-Synnott up now, probably looking to improve on her second round score and move up the placings from fourth.
That's a marked improvement on her conservative second attempt - wow, it's 91.00 to grab the lead.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 176.50 1, Iwabuchi (Japan) 158.50 2, Murase (Japan) 157.75 3... Gisler (Switzerland) 113.50 12
4:13pm - Leader Iwabuchi wipes out her third attempt, so that won't help her improve.
4:11pm - Onitsuka begins the final round, currently sitting in third, and her 73.50 improves her score, but not her placing.
4:03pm - Hackett scores 54.93 in her first freeski slopestyle, good for 12th in the opening round, so she's on the bubble.
3:58pm - Austrian Gasser slots into fifth with a 62.25, just behind Sadowski-Synnott.
3:53pm - At Genting Snow Park, Margaux Hackett only a couple of skiers away from her opening slopestyle qualifying run.
Meanwhile, Frenchwoman Lucile Lefevre gets the prize for most fun at the snowboarding, after simply waving to the camera on her first run and wearing a tiger onesie on her second. Her scores won't get her into the final though.
3:46pm - Japanese Murase nails her second jump and should progress near the top with that. Her 72.75 puts her into second, behind teammate Iwabuchi, forcing Sadowski-Synnott into fourth.
Japan fills the top three spots so far.
Iwabuchi (Japan) 158.50 1, Murase (Japan) 157.75 2, Onitsuka (Japan) 153.00 3, Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 147.75 4
3:42pm - Aussie Coady scores 54.75, slotting just behind Blouin for fifth.
3:40pm - Canadian Blouin also takes a conservative approach to make sure she's safely through the jump. Her 67.25 puts her past Peperkamp and just behind Sadowski-Synnott for fourth.
3:30pm - Peperkamp from Netherland scores 68.25 - better than ZSS - and catapults from 12 - on the bubble - to fourth with 128.25. Let's see how that stands up over the next couple of rounds.
3:24pm - Anderson also falls again and that's the end of the GOAT.
3:23pm - Sadowski-Synnott takes a conservative approach with her second jump and leaves her short of the lead, with 62.25 and 147.75 for third.
Iwabuchi (Japan) 158.50 1, Onitsuka (Japan) 153.00 2, Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 147.75 3
3:21pm - Rukajarvi falls for the second time and that's probably eliminates her from contention. Sadowski-Synnott next...
3:19pm - Iwabuchi safely completes her second attempt and grabs the lead with 75.50 and 158.50.
3:17pm - Onitsuka nails the landing on her second attempt and that should be enough to see her through to the final. She scores 72.25 and 153.00 total for the early lead.
3:14pm - Belgian Poppe completes the opening round of snowboard big air qualifying... she scores 44.00, good for 17th, and we go back to the start again.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 85.50 1, Murase (Japan) 85.00 2, Iwabuchi (Japan) 83.00 3... Peperkamp (Netherlands) 60.00 12
3:10pm - Meanwhile, at Genting Snow Park, the women's freeski slopestyle qualifying - deferred from yesterday, due to heavy snow - has begun, with Kiwi Margaux Hackett 19th in running order.
3:07pm - Austrian Anna Gasser slips into sixth with 73.25, still well short of our Kiwi golden girl.
2:57pm - Japanese Murase slips into second place with 85.00 - she was among the real contenders through qualifying in slopestyle, before finishing off the podium, so a real threat here.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 85.50 1, Murase (Japan) 85.00 2, Iwabuchi (Japan) 83.00 3
2:52pm - Aussie Tess Coady - a surprise bronze medallist in slopestyle - surpasses Blouin for fourth with 74.00. In other news, slopestyle silver medallist Julia Marino has withdrawn from big air, so another of Sadowski-Synnott's rivals gone.
2:51pm - Canadian Laurie Blouin lands in fourth with 68.00, still well short of the top three.
2:48pm - After 12 boarders, none have challenged the early leaders - Sadowski-Synnott, Iwabuchi and Onitsuka - so there will be considerable pressure on the second round for some highly ranked athletes.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 85.50 1, Iwabuchi (Japan) 83.00 2, Onitsuka (Japan) 80.75 3
2:37pm - Snowboard GOAT Jamie Anderson can't complete her landing, so she will need two good jumps to progress further.
2:35pm - Sadowski-Synnott nails her landing and waits for her score... her 85.50 puts her into the lead.
Sadowski-Synnott (NZ) 85.50 1, Iwabuchi (Japan) 83.00 2, Onitsuka (Japan) 80.75 3
2:34pm - Rukajarvi of Finland wipes out on her landing, so her score won't count towards qualifying. ZSS is up next...
2:33pm - Onitsuka of Japan opens the competition with 80.75 to set the early pace, but she is immediately surpassed by teammate Iwabuchi with 83.00.
2:26pm - The full field for the snowboard big air qualifying sees Zoi Sadowski-Synnott fourth in the 30-strong running order...
Miyabi Onitsuka (Japan)
Reira Iwabuchi (Japan)
Enni Rukajarvi (Finland)
Zoi Sadowski Synnott (NZ)
Jamie Anderson (USA)
Carola Niemelae (Finland)
Ekaterina Kosova (Russian Olympic Committee)
Melissa Peperkamp (Netherlands)
Bianca Gisler (Switzerland)
Klaudia Medlova (Slovakia)
Sarka Pancochova (Czech Republic)
Kamilla Kozuback (HUngary)
Ge Rong (China)
Laurie Blouin (Canada)
Tess Coady (Australia)
Ariane Burri (Switzerland)
Kokomo Murase (Japan)
Jasmine Baird (Canada)
Hailey Langland (USA)
Urska Pribosic (Slovenia)
Lucile Lefevre (France)
Brooke Voigt (Canada)
Julia Marino (USA)
Anna Gasser (Austria)
Annika Morgan (Germany)
Lea Jugovac (Croatia)
Katie Ormerod (GBR)
Courtney Rummel (USA)
Hanne Eilertsen (Norway)
Evy Poppe (Belgium)
Each boarder will get three attempts, with their best two counting towards the final score. Top 12 will progress to tomorrow's final.
In big air, athletes gather momentum down a hill, before hitting a ramp and performing aerial tricks, then landing near the bottom of the hill. There are four ways to spin and the best two scores must result from two different spin directions.
*****
Kia ora, good afternoon and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics, where Kiwi snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott begins her pursuit of a second gold medal in the big air competition.
After taking out the slopestyle crown last week, Sadowski-Synnott, 20, faces qualifying in the event where she won bronze at Pyeongchang four years ago, bursting onto the world stage as New Zealand's youngest-ever Olympic medallist.
This time round, she will take no-one by surprise, after winning both slopestyle and big air at X-Games Aspen last month.
Sad news this morning was that teammate Cool Wakushima - the athlete with the 'coolest' name at the Olympics - has had to withdraw from qualifying, after aggravating a tailbone injury during slopestyle preliminaries.
But with heavy snow forcing a postponement to skiing yesterday, this afternoon features several other Kiwis in qualifying rounds, with Margaux Hackett, Finn Bilous and Ben Barclay all in freeski slopestyle.
We'll keep across all those developments as they happen from 2:30pm (NZ time).
Sadowski-Synnott carries Kiwi hopes for second Winter Olympics gold
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott is chasing even more history, hoping to become the first-ever Kiwi to win multiple medals at the same Winter Olympics, but what she’s already achieved has her teammates hungry for the same.
At 19, Cool Wakushima is soaking up everything that comes with her first Games.
After having her slopestyle run cut short by a lingering tailbone injury, she's ready to show her hand in tomorrow's big air with a more straightforward approach.
"I just need to land on my feet and stay on my feet," she says.
Inspiring her do that is New Zealand’s golden girl, Sadowski-Synnott, whose historic gold medal in the slopestyle last week has shown Wakushima and the rest of the New Zealand team that they can do the same.
"Just seeing her ride and watching how much work she puts in, and knowing I need to do the same really motivates me," says Wakushima. "What she can achieve really inspires me to do that some day.
The sentiment is similar for Tiarn Collins, who has known Sadowski-Synnott for years and feels it’s almost his responsibility to ensure Sadowski-Synnott isn’t flying the Kiwi flag on her own.
"Watching Zoi compete and do so well and riding with her every day, I've got to back her up," he says.
Sadowski-Synnott is again the favourite to take home gold in this week's big air, which was where the then-16-year-old announced herself to the world at Pyeongchang four years ago.
Coach Sean Thompson is eager to continue the momentum from last week’s success.
"Big air is coming up pretty fast, but this definitely builds the confidence and we're excited to have another crack at it, " says Thompson.
Regardless of whether Sadowski-Synnott can produce another history-making run, her impact on the sport has already been keenly felt.
Ollie Ritchie
