Gasser to shoot for threepeat in Olympic big air as Sadowski-Synnott tops qualifying

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Anna Gasser set herself up for a chance at her third straight Olympic snowboarding gold medal in big air. She'll have to overcome another gold medalist, defending slopestyle champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, to win it.

Sadowski-Synnott, the New Zealander who finished second to Gasser in big air in 2022, won Sunday night's big air qualifier with 172.25 points from her best two jumps.

Kokomo Murase, the 2022 bronze medalist, was second with 171.25 and led a contingent of four Japanese riders to reach Monday's final of 12.

The 34-year-old Gasser cut it a little closer than she would have liked in qualifying. The two-time champion only managed to place ninth among the field of 29 with a score of 159.50.

“I have to say I got very nervous throughout the competition because all the ladies were riding so strong, and I’m very happy I’m still in the top 12, and I get a chance to ride in finals tomorrow,” Gasser said.

“So at the end of the day it all worked out, but I for sure don’t like the feeling of being close to that bubble.”

The Austrian has long been known as one of the biggest jumpers in snowboarding and has won both big air contests since the event was put into the Olympics in 2018.

When snowboard racer Ester Ledecka was eliminated in the parallel giant slalom races earlier Sunday at the Livigno Snow Park, it gave Gasser a chance at history: No snowboarder has won three straight gold medals in the same event over the sport's 28-year history at the Games.

Waiting in the wings is Chloe Kim, who has a chance for her own three-peat later in the week.

“I don’t think I think about history in this one. I’m just super happy that I’m in the final and that I get a chance,” Gasser said. “Tomorrow is a new day and everyone is going to go full in.”

The qualifying box ticked, Sadowski-Synnott said that she can now let it flow in the final.

“I hope that the pressure’s kind of off my shoulders and I can finally enjoy being here and, and prepare for the finals,” she said.

Mia Brookes of Britain was third.

All three American riders were eliminated.

Big air consists of one single jump off a huge ramp, where the rider varies spins, flips and holds of the board. The Livigno ramp, built on a scaffolding, peaks at over 40 meters (yards), sending the riders soaring down the slope that was lit by floodlights for the nighttime event.

Riders jump three times in qualifying. Their top two jumps are combined for a final score while the worst jump is dropped. The top 12 riders of the field of 29 advanced to Monday's final.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Japan's Kokomo Murase competes during the women's snowboard big air qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott competes during the women's snowboard big air qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Austria's Anna Gasser competes during the women's snowboard big air qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Austria's Anna Gasser competes during the women's snowboard big air qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott looks on during the women's snowboard big air qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Duke received the top overall seed for March Madness on Sunday, followed by Arizona, Michigan and Florida, each of whom would love a repeat of last season when all four No. 1s made it all the way to the Final Four.

The top line was the most predictable thing to come out of Selection Sunday, with Michigan’s drop of one spot to the overall No. 3 the result of the Wolverines' loss to Purdue moments before the brackets were revealed, according to tournament selection chair Keith Gill.

In the day’s biggest nail-biter, Miami (Ohio) made the field as a No. 11 seed, but just barely. The RedHawks, with a 31-1 record but the 339th-ranked strength of schedule, were one of the last teams in the field and they face a First Four game Wednesday against SMU in Dayton, Ohio, not terribly far from home.

The tournament starts Tuesday with other play-in games, including one pitting bubble teams and No. 11 seeds Texas and North Carolina State. The national champion will be crowned at the Final Four in Indianapolis on April 6.

Among those left out were San Diego State, Indiana, Oklahoma and Auburn.

The Tigers had 16 losses but the third-best strength of schedule. The snub drew predictable blowback from Bruce Pearl, their former coach and father of their current coach, who was working for CBS and said “they played the toughest schedule in the country and I don’t know if they were rewarded for it.”

Even with those snubs, the Southeastern Conference led the way by placing 10 teams in the field of 68, four short of its record from last year.

The Big Ten followed with nine, the ACC and Big 12 with eight apiece -- an unsurprising result in an era of massive conference expansion and NIL compensation drawing top players to the biggest spenders.

The Gators (26-7) are the defending champion, trying to repeat their back-to-back titles from 2006-07. Last season, Florida was part of an all-No. 1 Final Four -- the first time that had happened in 17 seasons.

Gill confusingly said Miami (Ohio) was not the last at-large team in the bracket, even though it was ranked in the 1-68 lineup behind bubble teams North Carolina State, Texas and SMU. Those three teams also rated above Miami in some of the key metrics.

The 31 wins must have meant something.

Gill said the committee looked hard at how injuries would impact teams.

No team suffered more, both on the bracket and the court, than North Carolina, which is a No. 6 seed after losing Caleb Wilson to a broken right thumb. JT Toppin’s season-ending knee injury was also a factor in Texas Tech’s No. 5 seeding.

Asked how the NCAA’s seeding principles played a role in moving teams around in the bracket, Gill pointed to the First Four meeting between NC State and Texas the committee would have liked to avoid because it is a rematch of a game they played in the Maui Invitational in November.

He said nothing about placing No. 2 seed Houston in the South, where it could play the regional final in its hometown — normally something the NCAA shies away from. The game could be against Florida in what would be a rematch of last year’s national championship game.

The committee weighed the Big Ten final in moving Michigan down one notch and moving Purdue from a 3 to a 2 seed, but didn’t seem to pay as much attention to the action in the Big East.

St. John’s beat UConn by 20 in that conference final but remained where most bracketologists had them, at No. 5, and with a cross-country trip this week to San Diego to play Northern Iowa. UConn stayed at No. 2 where it had been predicted all along.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Kentucky guard Collin Chandler (5) falls onto Florida forward Alex Condon (21) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Arizona's Jaden Bradley celebrates after making the game-winning shot at the buzzer to defeat Iowa State during an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Friday, March 13, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)