LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Yuto Totsuka claimed gold in the men's snowboard halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday at Livigno Snow Park, edging out Australia's five-time Olympian Scotty James, who took silver for the second straight Games.
Totsuka posted a winning score of 95.00 on his second run, while James finished with 93.50. Japan's Ryusei Yamada secured bronze with a final-run score of 92.00, completing a dominant display by the Japanese team who had four riders in the final.
James, 31, pushed hard for gold but fell on his final run after attempting a backside 1620 on the last hit.
"I was a man on a mission," James said. "It was such a crazy final to be a part of. I obviously had an intention to put a better run, but it became unstuck. But that's competition. I feel like the first run, I would have gotten a much better score if I landed well."
The Australian dedicated his silver medal to his 16-month-old son. "He's going to have no idea what this is," he said. "But that's the best thing about kids: unconditional love. I'll be proud to go home and put the medal around his neck. Being a dad and competing at this level has been amazing. I look forward to sharing this with him."
James also praised the champion: "Yuto worked so hard. I always see him there at training. I was anticipating such a good battle with him, and he came out on top. So congrats to him."
China's Wang Ziyang finished ninth with a final-run score of 76.00 after falling on his first two runs. The 22-year-old, who is returning from a serious knee injury sustained at last year's Asian Winter Games, landed a clean final run featuring one 1620, three 1440s and a 1260.
"I was prepared to need three runs," Wang said. "I haven't had enough time to train since my injury, so I could only do three directions [of spins]. That's probably why the score wasn't higher." Enditem
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