Five-time Olympian Scotty James has added another Olympic medal to his collection, winning silver in the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe in one of the most impressive Halfpipe finals in history.
James is now the most decorated Australian Winter Olympian having won bronze in PyeongChang, silver in Beijing and now silver in Milano Cortina. He is the only Winter Olympian with three medals.
“To be the most medal-winning Aussie Winter Olympian is amazing, it’s special to be able to accomplish that,” James said.
For Australian Winter sport, we’re heading in the right direction and it’s been amazing to be part of it.
Image: James in full flight during the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Final in Milano Cortina (Chris Hocking / AOC)
In an epic final where the best of three runs counts, James narrowly missing the landing on his first run.
His second run started with a near-perfect cab 1440 triple cork and finished with an impressive backside 1440 to score 93.50 and put him in the silver medal position.
His third and final run kicked off with a 1440 to a frontside 1260, then delivered a clean backside 1080 double cork, but James just missed the landing on his backside 1620.
Japan’s Totsuka Yuto landed a 95.00 on his second run that could not be beaten, with his countryman Yamada Ryusei rounding out the podium with a score of 92.00 to take bronze.
James said that while it was the gold he was hunting for, he was proud to have put everything into his performance and win another silver medal.
“At the end of the day it’s not exactly the result I wanted, but I don’t go up there for the results,” he said.
“I absolutely love it and I didn’t start this for potentially winning a medal or not. I did this because it’s my passion, my life.
“In the next 24-hours, I’ll probably have a bit of a cry, but I’ll be happy as well because representing the country and winning a medal is unbelievable and I’m really proud of that.
I’ll wake up and still be thinking of what I’m going to do on my board and looking forward to the next opportunity. I look forward to many more battles in the halfpipe.
Coming into the Games, James was vocal about his goal to push the sport beyond its limits and said he was determined to try a 1620 (an extra half rotation) on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
“I potentially could have done it with a 14[40], but for myself I had to do the 16[20], I wanted to push it, that’s what I was here to do, regardless of the result.
“It was really going to be for me that run, but I’ll have to keep pushing it in the future.”
Valentino Guseli also impressed in the pipe under lights, placing fifth – one better than his Beijing 2022 result.
In his first run, Guseli wowed the crowd as he launched a massive 6.1M out of the pipe.
In this third and final fun, the 20-year-old kicked off with an alleyoop backside 360 at 5.6M, only to soar 5.8M out of the pipe on his second hit. Putting down a clean run that ended with a switch backside 1260, Guseli scored 88.00 – a run that would have seen him claim the bronze at Beijing 2022.
“That kind of finals pressure in the Olympics is massive and I think everyone felt it a little bit, Yuto managed to feel it the least and put down the best run,” Guseli said.
“I definitely think I could have ridden better… I still believe if I did my best snowboarding I could have won, but I didn’t and that’s the nature of the game.
“The standard was huge tonight, it was the biggest comp of all time, it was insane.”
With an exceptionally high standard of riding, the top-six athletes in Milano Cortina all put down runs what would have won medals four years ago in Beijing.
“It’s been crazy watching the progression over the many years and Olympics that I’ve gone to, it’s been amazing,” James said.
“I don’t think the progression has been that rapid in 12 months ever. There were times where I was like, ‘I hope it slows down’ but it didn’t.
“I’m pushing it, they’re pushing it, so I’m as equally responsible, but it’s been cool to be a part of it.”
