Scotty James has won Australia’s third medal of the Winter Olympics, taking silver in an epic men’s halfpipe final on Friday.
Japanese star Ayumu Hirano pulled out a stunning final run of the event to steal the gold from the Aussie.
After a fall in his first run, James put it all together in his second, showcasing his trademark technical style with a massive score of 92.50.
HUGE 🙌
— 7Olympics (@7olympics) February 11, 2022
🇦🇺 @scottyjames31 STOMPS IT to score a 92.50 in his second run and lead with one run to come. #Beijing2022 | #7Olympics pic.twitter.com/bZDOjEtuzo
Hirano, who posted the highest score in the qualifying round, followed James and hearts were in mouths as the judges tallied up his run, although it eventually came in just behind at 91.75.
With a clear gap between Hirano and the rest of the field, James’ third and final run got off to a good start but he couldn't quite get the rotation on one of his hits, losing him some speed and preventing him putting a final exclamation point on the run.
That left Hirano with one final run and the 23-year-old blew everyone's minds, dropping a 96.00 to take out the gold.
Mic drop 💥
— 7Olympics (@7olympics) February 11, 2022
🇯🇵 Ayumu Hirano saves his best run until last to score a 96.00 and be crowned Olympic champion 🥇#Beijing2022 | #7Olympics pic.twitter.com/yaCTDmY9at
Switzerland Jan Scherrer took home the bronze medal, posting a score of 87.25.
16-year-old Aussie Valentino Guseli finished in an impressive sixth place, finishing with the highest average across his three runs of any of the 12 finalists.
American legend and three-time gold medal winner Shaun White couldn't pull another miracle out of the bag in his final ever competition but finished in a very respectable fourth place.
James joins Jakara Anthony (gold, women's moguls) and Tess Coady (bronze, women's snowboard slopestyle) as Aussie medal winners at Beijing 2022.
It's also the second Winter Olympic medal for the 27-year-old after he collected bronze in PyeongChang.
Speaking after the event, James said despite narrowly missing the gold, he was still proud of his performance.
"I really hope people don't think that I'm at all disappointed," he said.
"I'm absolutely incredibly over the moon. I came out and gave it my best shot and that's all that we can ask for as athletes.
"It's been an incredible journey and to stand on the podium at the Olympic games again is an incredible feat... I don't have too many words for it right now, I'm absolutely thrilled."
For Hirano, it was a case of third time's a charm after he picked up silver medals in 2014 and 2018.
"I expected to have a really good battle with Ayumu and the rest of the field, it really could have been anyone's today and that was the most exciting thing and I think that's exciting for our sport," James added.
"As an Australian, to be even competing with these guys, from where we come from, there's a lot of pride with that.
"[Hirano] speaks for himself. He's an incredible rider and I really look forward to having many many healthy battles with him in the future.
"As much as I was giving it my best shot, he was really coming in strong and had his head down all season to win the gold."
As for what's next, James is already eyeing off Milano Cortina 2026: "I'm still really young, I'm very driven and I've got the bronze, I've got a silver and now I need to finish off my collection for the pool room with gold in Italy."