At the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Japan's Yuto Totsuka secured the gold medal in the men's snowboard halfpipe final. Australia's Scotty James took silver, preventing a Japanese podium sweep, while Ryusei Yamada claimed bronze. Japanese snowboarders continue their streak of medals in the event.
On February 14, 2026, at Livigno Snow Park in Italy, 24-year-old Yuto Totsuka claimed gold in the men's snowboard halfpipe final at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics with a score of 95.00 on his second run. Totsuka impressed the crowd with back-to-back jumps featuring three head-over-heels flips each.
Australia's 31-year-old Scotty James earned silver with 93.50 points from his second run, though he fell on his final attempt. James, who won silver at Beijing 2022 and bronze at Pyeongchang 2018, secured his third Olympic medal. Japan's 19-year-old Ryusei Yamada took bronze, scoring 92.00 on both his first and third runs.
Ruka Hirano of Japan finished fourth, while defending champion Ayumu Hirano placed seventh, not fully recovered from a facial and pelvic injury sustained in a fall last month. Ayumu Hirano's Beijing 2022 gold marked the second consecutive Olympics for Japanese golds in the event, and the fourth straight Games with a Japanese podium finish.
This brought Japan's snowboarding medal tally at Milano Cortina to five and six, including three golds. Other medals include gold for Kira Kimura and silver for Ryomo Kimata in men's big air, gold for Kokomo Murase in women's big air, and bronze for Mitsuki Ono in women's halfpipe. Totsuka, in his third Olympics, leads the World Cup halfpipe standings. James expressed frustration after falling short of gold once again.
