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Zhangjiakou, China: Australian Scotty James has won silver in the men’s snowboarding halfpipe, coming from behind in his second run in a tightly contested final in Zhangjiakou.

James is Australia’s first silver of the Beijing Olympics and third medal a week into the competition, putting Australia on track to have one of its most successful Winter Games in history.

James’ score of 92.50 on his second run (out of three in the final) had him in the gold medal position, until Hirano’s final run of 96.00.

Scotty JamesCredit: Getty

The Australian fell in his opening run as he attempted to put his mark on the competition, scoring only 16.5 points to leave him well behind leader Taylor Gold on 81.75 points. James put the first run to bed in his second attempt, scoring 92.5 to take the lead going into the final run.

Fortunately for James, his main rival – Ayumu Hirano of Japan – also fell in his opening run after nailing back to back triple corks, leaving the field wide open as the riders went into their last attempt.

In a neck and neck contest Hirano scored 91.75 in his second run, leaving him just behind James as they prepared to face off for the final time. Hirano then landed a 96 in his last ditch push down the pipe to take the gold. US legend Shaun White – in his final Olympic Games after three gold medals in this event finished 4th.

Scotty James of Team Australia reacts after their second run.Credit:Getty

Halfpipe is scored out of the best of three runs – allowing riders to throw everything at each run in the hope of snaring a medal. A dozen riders fell attempting to go big on the icy halfpipe in challenging conditions on Friday morning.

Young gun Australian Valentino Guseli got huge air on the first of his runs – pushing him into second spot on the standings halfway through the contest. The 16-year-old finished in 6th place after a best run of 79.75.

James, a triple world halfpipe champion from Warrandyte in Victoria who won bronze at PyeongChang in 2018, had been rehearsing his final run at Beijing for the past three months.

“To be Australian, up here competing against people that have grown up with it in their backyard, there’s a little bit of that, you know, angry dog ​​that’s inside of me that doesn’t matter where I’ve come from,” the 27-year-old said after the qualifying rounds on Wednesday.

“I’m here to ride and I’m here to be competitive.”

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