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Japan's Yuto Totsuka competes in the snowboard men's halfpipe final. (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images)
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV via Getty Images
LIVIGNO, Italy — The level of snowboarding in Olympic men’s halfpipe has never been better.
And Japan is setting the standard for the whole world.
Yuto Totsuka, long a force in the sport but never an Olympic medalist, landed the run of his life Friday to win gold, edging out Australian legend Scotty James, who settled for silver again just like in 2022.
Four years ago, it was Japanese star Ayumu Hirano who one-upped him. This time, after James’ second run was scored 1.5 points behind Totsuka (much to his surprise, judging by his reaction) he had one final shot to win gold. He fell on his final trick, ending his chances.
This year, the depth of Japan’s team was the story of the competition, as they took first, third (Ryusei Yamada), fourth (Ruka Hirano) and seventh (Ayumu Hirano).
The top four all scored 90 or above on their best run, with Totsuka’s flawless second run earning a 95.00.
The American continent never factored in the outcome. Jake Pates finished eighth; Alessandro Barbieri, who qualified fourth, came in 10th after only putting down one of three runs, while Chase Josey finished 11th of 12.
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