BEIJING, China — The 2022 Winter Olympics are taking place in Beijing, and all systems are a go. During the men's halfpipe final, snowboarder Ayumu Hirano put on a blistering performance-- beating out Olympic legend Shaun White, earning gold and making history.
Hirano shocked the nation by becoming the first snowboarder to land a front-side triple cork 1440 in Olympic history during his first run in the halfpipe final. Four full rotations and three off-axis flips, the move has only been experimented with on the Olympic level-- until now.
During his second run, controversy struck. After landing yet another triple cork, commentator Todd Richards called Hirano's run one of the best he's ever seen. However, the judges only awarded the two-time Olympic silver medalist a 91.75 score.
"I know the ingredients of a winning run. I know when I've seen the best run that's ever been done in the halfpipe," he said. "Try to tell me where you are deducting from this run? It's unbelievable that this is even happening. It's a travesty to be completely honest with you. I am irate right now."
In the end, however, Hirano persevered. Shaun White ultimately failed to stick the landing in the third round, missing an opportunity to make it on the podium.
Landing the historic triple cork yet again, Hirano punctuated his final run with a 96 score-- earning the Japanese' snowboarder Olympic gold.