<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Japan’s<strong> Yuto Totsuka</strong> delivered the performance of a lifetime to claim the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe title, as<strong> Scotty James’</strong> dreams of gold slipped through his fingers at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno on Friday night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a night filled with competition-first tricks and combinations, from<strong> Chaeun Lee’s</strong> (KOR) switch frontside triple cork 1620 to<strong> Ayumu Hirano’s</strong> (JPN) frontside double cork 1620 double tail grab, with even those tricks in landed runs not making it onto the podium. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Totsuka’s</strong> winning came on his second attempt, where he led off with a massive switch frontside triple cork 1440 drunk driver, into an equally large frontside triple cork 1440 truck driver, and then a switch backside double alley-oop rodeo 900 stalefish, to a switch backside double cork 1080 nose grab, and finally capped it all off with a backside double cork 1260 mute, for a score of 95.00pts. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With none of the other 11 riders on hand able to best that score through run three, including Totsuka himself, only James could shake up the podium with the final drop of the night as the top qualifier.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Through the first four hits of run three <strong>James</strong> matched his tricks from his 93.50-scoring run two - switch frontside triple cork 1440 mute, frontside double cork 1260 stalefish, backside double cork 1080 stalefish, and switch backside double cork 1440 Japan - before attempting to up the ante on his fifth and final hit by going for a backside double cork 1620 Japan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, it was not to be, as the Australian went down on his final hit to fall just short in his bid to complete his Olympic medal collection, taking silver for the second straight Olympic Winter Games.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Ryusei Yamada</strong> (JPN) made it a Japanese 1-3 as he clinched bronze with 92.00pts, which he earned for both his first and third runs, despite a different set of wildly creative tricks in each run. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Run three was probably the best, as the 92.00 came even though Yamada had a hand touch in the middle. Leading off with a switch frontside double cork 1440 nose grab, he then went switch frontside alley-oop double rodeo 1080 frontside grab, backside double cork 1080 Japan, switch mctwist Japan, and finally switch backside double alley-oop rodeo 900 stalefish. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Totsuka came into Milano 2026 on the back of a superb World Cup campaign that sees him leading the standings after topping the podium at Aspen. The three-time Olympian put his soaring success down to creativity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I had to bring out my originality in all the different tricks that I did. Doing a trick that no one else did was one of the things that determined it. I also think it's because of the amplitude that I was able to do so well."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">–<strong> Yuto Totsuka</strong> (JPN)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For <strong>James </strong>it was a case of so near and yet so far once more. He was second behind Hirano at Beijing 2022, four years after bronze at PyeongChang 2018.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The five-time Olympian showcased his run at the final stop of the World Cup tour in Laax before the Olympic Winter Games.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reflecting on his performance, the four-time World Champion felt that his final run would have been the one to win gold if he’d landed his back 1620. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I was a man on a mission for sure. It was such a crazy final to be a part of. I obviously had an intention to put a bit of a better run together, but it became unstuck. But that's competition. I was really happy to be a part of it. Yuto worked so hard. I always see him there at training. I was anticipating such a good battle with him, and he came out on top. So, congrats to him."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">– <strong>Scotty James</strong> (AUS)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Yamada </strong>arrived in Livigno third in the World Cup standings and described his Olympic debut as the fulfilment of his dreams.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"What I've been thinking about constantly in my head since the Olympics four years ago is that I wanted to compete in the next Olympics and do this run. I've been thinking about that the whole time. And for these past four years I think I've been training and aiming for this run."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">– <strong>Ryusei Yamada</strong> (JPN)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Up Next:</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Women’s and Men’s <strong>Snowboard Slopestyle</strong> competitions get underway on Monday 16 February.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">10:00 Women’s qualification runs begin</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">14:00 Men’s qualification runs begin</div>