The pioneering Shaun White bowed out after his fifth Games and in doing so passed the torch to Ayumu Hirano
his time Ayumu Hirano would not be denied. Not by the judges. Not even by the greatest snowboarder in history. Instead, amid the most intense pressure and anger, the 23-year-old from Japan found the halfpipe equivalent of the holy grail.
White had tried in training, in 2013, and it hospitalised him. Yet from the moment Hirano slid down the pipe and soared 5.5 metres in the air it was on. Over the next second or so, the Japanese rider then became a human gyroscope, spinning four full rotations while simultaneously inverting three times. More tricks followed and long before the judges conferred, and awarded him a score of 96.00, victory was his.
As for White, he can be proud of his performance despite missing out on a medal. His best run, his second, included a front-side double cork 1440 and his signature double McTwist 1260. Then, as it all began to sink in, White began to cry. “Sorry you’re going to get me ugly crying here, but I’m not upset about the result,” he said.
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