FINAL RUNG TO CLIMB FOR SCOTTY
With a bronze and now silver, the halfpipe medallist will chase gold at Milan 2026
SCOTTY James says he is “over the moon” with his Olympic snowboarding silver medal but promised to hunt down that elusive gold medal in four years after a heartbreaking finish in the halfpipe final.
James was on the verge of claiming Australia’s second gold medal of the Beijing Games but Japan’s title favourite Ayumu Hirano nailed his final run and the last attempt of the final to snatch the gold with an epic score of 96 points to just edge ahead of James, who posted a 92.50 with his second run.
Australia’s triple world champion was just one run from being crowned an Olympic gold medallist and, despite the obvious heartbreak, was proud of his performance and praised the Japanese star who was the silver medallist at the past two Olympics but delivered the goods under the most pressured moment of his career.
The humble “Wizard from Warrandyte” could not be more thankful after the event.
“Thank you so much, I really hope people don’t think that I’m at all disappointed,” James said. “I am absolutely over the moon and I came out, gave it my best shot, that’s all we can ask for as athletes.
“I work really hard, it’s been an incredible journey and to stand on the podium at the Olympic Games is an incredible feat.
“I don’t have too many words for it right now. Honestly, I’m absolutely thrilled.”
James reserved special praise for Ayumu, his fierce rival who came so close to gold twice before, but promised to fight on for the next Winter Olympics in Milan in 2026.
“(Ayumu) is an incredible rider and I look forward to having many, many healthy battles with him in the future,” James said.
“I am proud of him but I am ready to fire up and answer back when I can.
“For me, as an Australian, aside from just being here and to be even competing with these guys, from where we come from is just a lot of pride.
“If I can display that and ride like that and just pour my heart into what I’m doing, then I’ve had success. I’m still really young, I still have a lot of vision. I’m very driven and I made the joke before that I’ve got the bronze, I’ve got the silver and now I need to finish off my collection for the pool room with gold in Italy.”
Australian teen Valentino Guseli finished sixth, with his highest score of 79.75 points, although commentators all agreed he was underscored on the final run.
Guseli was the only man in the final to execute every run and, at the age of 16, he is certainly a star of the future.
He paid tribute to his support network and revealed he was struggling at the top of the “icy taco”.
“The people you spend your time around are who you kinda turn into, in a way,” he said.
“Who you surround yourself with, influences the way you are. So, it’s super important to have a really good team behind me.
“I’m super thankful for my coach, who really just held me together up there because, you know, I wasn’t feeling great before my first run.
“I’m super thankful for him and all the physios and everyone who’s come from Australia to help out.”