Zhangjiakou, China, February 11, 2022: Japan’s Ayumu Hirano is certainly a man for all seasons.
It was Hirano’s third Olympic medal – but his first gold after winning the silver medal in the halfpipe at Sochi 2014, when he was only 15, and at PyeongChang four years ago.
Hirano, 23, recorded his best score, 96.00, on his third and final run to overtake James Scotty of Australia, whose second-run 92.50 earned him the silver. Jan Scherrer took bronze with 87.25.
In his last event, the American snowboarding legend and three-time gold medallist Shaun White, 35, was fourth with a best score of 85.00.
Hirano became the first snowboarder representing an Asian National Olympic Committee to win gold at the Olympic Winter Games.
There were three Hiranos in the final competing for Japan – Ayumu and his younger brother, 19-year-old Kaishu, who finished ninth, along with Ruka (12th), who is not related to the brothers.
The new Olympic champion had double cause to celebrate – the gold medal and competing in the Olympics with Kaishu.
“I have been dreaming of competing together with Kaishu, my younger brother. It is a very big experience for him, and for us to ride in the same event is something that we will take into our hearts for a long time to come,” said Ayumu.
He said he had been imagining the scene in his head – his final run to win Olympic gold – so he was particularly pleased he could live the dream in real life.
Hirano is the fifth Japanese athlete to compete in the summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games and he said his Tokyo 2020 experiences on the skateboard helped him a lot in preparing for his snowboard challenge at Beijing 2022.
“Experiencing something that is different from snowboarding helps me mentally and how I manage my emotions,” he said.
"Skateboarding helped me substantially in that sense. This event was a huge challenge for me, but that experience itself gave me a lot of confidence, looking back over the last four years. Skateboarding helped make me stronger.”
Photo: FIS Snowboarding