Japan's Kokomo Murase competes in the snowboard women's big air qualification run 1 at Livigno Snow Park during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Livigno (Valtellina), on February 8, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

Japan's Kokomo Murase claimed gold of the women's snowboard big air with 179.00 points at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games here on Monday, while China's Zhang Xiaonan finished fifth in her Olympic debut, matching the country's best result in the event.

"I wasn't sure I would make it onto the podium until I landed that third run. When I did, the emotions flooded over me," said Murase, who improved from her bronze medal at Beijing 2022. "I feel I've grown. I attacked from the first run, which I hadn't done last time, so I genuinely feel that's where my growth lies."

New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and South Korea's Yu Seung-eun took silver and bronze respectively.

Zhang posted a total score of 144.50 points at Livigno Snow Park in a final dominated by some of the world's most established snowboarders.

China's Zhang Xiaonan competes in the snowboard women's big air final run 1 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno (Valtellina), on February 9, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

"To be honest, I'm happy for myself. It's my first Winter Olympics, and I was able to make it into the final and perform at my level in the final. That's not easy at all," the 19-year-old said. "At the very least, I finished the competition safely, and I think that's the most important thing."

Zhang opened her final with a solid first run before suffering a low-scoring second attempt. She responded with a strong final run, showing composure under pressure to secure fifth place.

"I was really grateful that I could land the double cork 1260 in my third run," Zhang said. "It was the first time I'd ever done it in a competition, and it gave me a lot of confidence. As for the score, I have no doubts about it - the landing wasn't clean enough, so there's nothing to argue about."

Her compatriot Rong Ge had finished fifth in the women's snowboard big air at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Su Yiming, men's big air bronze medalist at the Milan-Cortina Games and the Beijing 2022 Olympic champion in the event, watched the final from the finish area, cheering Zhang on.

"After I came down, I talked a bit with Su and some other Chinese athletes. I was crying at the time, and Su told me, 'You did really well, that was a great ride.'"

Snowboard big air became an Olympic medal event at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games, making it one of the newest events on the Olympic program.

Austria's Anna Gasser won the women's big air gold at both PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022. Now 34, she is the oldest competitor in Monday's final and the only athlete over 30, finishing eighth this time.