Harrington seizes moment to claim gold

It is possible Luca Harrington has never heard of John Daly but they are sporting stories of equal unlikeliness.

American golfer Daly was the ninth and last alternate for the 1991 PGA Championship, and after earning a spot when several others withdrew, he went on to win the major.

Aspen is some way from the Crooked Stick Golf Club but what Harrington managed at the weekend was of Dalian proportions.

Harrington, the 20-year-old freeskier who is the latest star pupil to emerge from the Wanaka school of snow sports excellence, stunned his community with gold in the men’s slopestyle in his debut appearance at the X Games in Colorado after originally being an alternate.

It completed a golden double for New Zealand as the great Zoi Sadowski-Synnott had earlier won the women’s snowboard slopestyle crown.

For good measure, Harrington added silver in the big air yesterday, finishing just one point behind the gold medallist.

Harrington has already been having a heck of a northern winter, having claimed two big air gold medals on the world cup circuit.

Joining the ranks of champions at the X Games, an invite-only event revered by the snow sports world, in such a fairy-tale manner will take some beating.

‘‘I have been so grateful to be able to train throughout the sessions with everyone and get ready to go and to be a competitor,’’ Harrington said after his slopestyle glory.

‘‘I was not sure it was going to happen. Then last night, after my big air training, I got the email saying I was in.

‘‘I was super excited and had a hard time sleeping. I was buzzing in my bed.

‘‘Today was incredible. I am so grateful I got to sneak on to the start list.’’

As the rookie on course, Harrington had nothing to lose, and he threw himself into a bold qualifying performance that launched him into top spot for the finals.

That was ‘‘incredibly satisfying’’, he said.

Naturally, that gave him confidence he belonged, and his feeling as he approached the finals was: ‘‘Let’s win this thing’’.

As the top qualifier, the Kiwi was the last to drop for each of the two finals runs, but as it turned out, he did not even need his second run to win.

Harrington put down a flawless first run, which included a right double corked 900 bring back Japan grab and switch right triple corked 1620 with an esco grab.

Those tricks might need some explaining, but the key point is they formed Harrington’s winning combination at the big air world cup at Klagenfurt earlier this month.

Harrington took a victory lap for his final run as he was joined on the podium by Swiss ace Andri Ragettli and American skier Mac Forehand.

Earlier, Sadowski-Synnott did her thing — her excellence shone through, as it so often does.

She won the women’s snowboard slopestyle by unleashing a triple cork, becoming the first woman to land it in competition.

That made it 11 X Games medals, including six gold, for the Wanaka wonder.

It was also a delightful reward for the courage and patience she showed through a year ruined by injury.

‘‘Being able to do that run, which is a dream run of mine I never thought was possible, it means the world to me to be back here at X Games,’’ Sadowski-Synnott said.

‘‘Honestly, I didn’t know if I would be on the podium again going through this injury, so to be back here in the mix with the girls and to be part of the progression means so much to me and to win this comp, I can’t even believe it.’’

Sadowski-Synnott came out swinging in the playoffs, scoring a 92.33 to cruise to the final round.

She kicked it up a gear in the finals, putting down a huge backside triple corked 1440 on the third and final jump, making history as the first woman (ski or snowboard) to land a triple cork in a slopestyle competition.

With a huge score of 94.66 on the board, Sadowski-Synnott remained untouchable for the remainder of the competition, holding off Kokomo Murase, of Japan, and American Mia Brookes.

The Wanaka medal streak on Saturday continued when 18-year-old snowboarder Rocco Jamieson claimed snowboard big air bronze in his debut X Games appearance.

Jamieson, the youngest athlete in the field, landed a delightfully named frontside 1800 bloody Dracula grab in his first run, earning a 94.00 score and qualifying second for the final.

Japanese star Hiroto Ogiwara soared to a winning score of 97.33 in the final, and compatriot Taiga Hasegawa was second.

Jamieson landed the Dracula move again and sealed bronze.

Yesterday, Harrington was the only big air finalist to go over 90 points with both his tricks. His best, a 97, was second only to Italian star Miro Tabanelli’s 98.