Beijing : Hirano Ayumu of Japan pulled off a pair of unprecedented triple corks in the men’s snowboard halfpipe finals on Friday at the Genting Snow Park to seal his first gold medal after winning back-to-back silvers in PyeongChang and Sochi.
Ayumu finished on top of a pack of 12 of the world’s top pipe riders in the best-of-three competition with a top score of 96.00. Australia’s Scotty James (92.50) and surprise podium-placer Jan Scherrer (87.25) of Switzerland ended up with silver and bronze respectively. The star-studded men’s snowboard halfpipe finals were among the most-anticipated events so far at these Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. And they didn’t disappoint.
Hirano’s gold medal-winning run came in the third round – in the final run of the competition – and included a massive triple cork to open (his second of the night) and a huge 1440 that won over the judges who weren’t convinced with his second run.
Ayumu joins Team USA’s Chloe Kim as the Beijing 2022 snowboard halfpipe champions after Kim’s sensational performance on Thursday blew the rest of the competition out of the water.
Three-time and defending Olympic champion Shaun White, competing in his fifth Olympics at the age of 35, finished his competitive career with three impressive runs — but no place among the medals.
He pulled off his signature double McTwist 1260s and 1440s, but it wasn’t enough to see the California native and snowboarding legend end his career on an Olympic podium. White finished fourth among the competitors
