OLYMPIC DIGEST | Kokomo Murase Wins Women's Snowboarding Big Air Title

In 2022, Kokomo Murase got a taste of Olympic success, placing third in the women's snowboarding big air final in China as a 17-year-old.

Murase, who won the world title in 2025 in Switzerland, proved again in Livigno, Italy, that she's one of the sport's established stars.

On Monday, February 9, she produced two stellar jumps out of her three attempts at the Milan Cortina Olympics, receiving 89.75 points and 89.25 for a combined total of 179.00.

Murase's high-level performance, including on her triple-cork 1440-degree jumps, wowed the judges. Her winning total produced a sizable gap between first and second place.

New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski Synnott collected the silver with 172.25 points. South Korea's Seungeun Yu was third (171.00).

*Women's big air gold medalist Kokomo Murase (©KYODO)*

Anna Gasser of Austria, now 34, arrived in Italy as the two-time defending champion. She finished eighth (121.25).

Gasser was gracious in defeat.

"I'm happy to pass on the crown, the big crown, to Kokomo," Gasser said, according to The Associated Press. "She really deserves it. And yeah, it's crazy to see how far the sport has come in the last [few] years."

Specifically, as The Associated Press noted, the evolution of the event involves the mandatory triple-cork 1440s, which the news service described as "three head-over-heels flips with another rotation mixed in."

To hammer home that point, consider: Murase, Sadowski Synnott and Yu all successfully completed triple-cork 1440s.

Kokomo Murase Reacts to Victory

In becoming the first Japanese woman to win a snowboarding gold, Murase admitted it was a surreal experience.

"It still doesn't feel real, almost like I'm dreaming. I'm unbelievably happy," Murase said, according to Kyodo News.

On Saturday, February 7, Japan finished 1-2 in the men's big air final. Kira Kimura won the gold, with Ryoma Kimata placing second.

Now, Murase joins Kimura as a national hero at the Olympics, someone with a rising level of fame.

Murase said there's no hidden reason why Japanese athletes are experiencing success in snowboarding.

"[The reason] we can achieve so much is because we love this sport so much, and I think that is really our strength," Murase was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.

Momo Suzuki, 18, was Japan's second-highest finisher, placing sixth in the 12-woman final. Mari Fukada, who is 19, finished ninth. Three-time Olympian Reira Iwabuchi was 11th.

Murase will aim to win a second snowboarding medal at the Milan Cortina Games in the slopestyle competition. The final is on February 17.

Ski Jumping

Nikaido Earns Bronze in Men's Normal Hill

Ren Nikaido tied for third place in the men's ski jumping normal hill individual final on Monday with 266.0 points. He and Switzerland's Gregor Deschwanden both walked away with bronze medals.

At Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium, Nikaido extended Japan's medal streak in this event. Teammate Ryoya Kobayashi was the gold medalist at the Beijing Games in 2022.

Kobayashi placed eighth this time, finishing with 260.6 points.

Nikaido sat in sixth place after the first round, when he soared 101.0 meters on his jump. That attempt earned him 131.1 points. Heading into the final round, Kobayashi was seventh on 130.8.

And both Japanese Olympians weren't far behind the first-round points leader, Philipp Raimund of Germany (135.6).

Nikaido, 24, was even better in the final round, flying 106.5 meters to clinch a medal with the aforementioned 266.0 points.

Deschwanden was a consistent jumper on Monday, posting marks of 106 and 107 meters in the first and final rounds, respectively. As a result, based on his jumps and the judges' scores, he matched Nikaido's point total.

"I could not imagine we would have the same points for a medal!" Nikaido told reporters with a smile.

"He added, "I really had confidence I could win a medal. I even thought I could take the gold, but I am happy with the bronze."

Poland's Kacper Tomasiak was the runner-up with 270.7 points, and Raimund was No 1 with 274.1.

Japan's Naoki Nakamura tied for 15th place out of 31 entrants.

Gold medalist Philipp Raimund (second from left), second-place finisher Kacper Tomasiak (left) and bronze medalists Ren Nikaido and Gregor Deschwanden are pictured after the event. (©Stephanie Lecocq/REUTERS)

Making His Mark on the World Cup Circuit

Nikaido has had solid results of late on the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup circuit, including seven top-three finishes in the 2025-26 season. The Hokkaido Prefecture native grabbed his first win of the campaign in a large hill event in January 2026 in Innsbruck, Austria.

"I've been working on basic techniques since the summer," Nikaido said. "My takeoff wasn't great, but I'm still glad I was able to make a jump that would win me a medal."

After the competition wrapped up, Kobayashi demonstrated good sportsmanship, not dwelling on the personal disappointment of not getting a medal.

"They've been in such great form this season," Kobayashi said of the medalists, according to Nikkan Sports. "So seeing them perform well here makes me genuinely want to say congratulations."

*2022 Olympic champ Ryoyu Kobayashi vies for a second consecutive gold. (©KYODO)*

Kobayashi told reporters that he's looking forward to the men's large hill individual event on Saturday (Valentine's Day).

"I want to land two solid jumps again," he was quoted as saying by the sports newspaper. "Yes, I want to land them."

Before that, Kobayashi and Nikaido will join Sara Takanashi and Nozomi Maruyama, the women's normal hill bronze medalist, in the mixed team event. The medals will be distributed after its conclusion on Tuesday night, February 10 (the final round is set to start on Wednesday at 4 AM JST).

Ice Hockey

Smile Japan Falls to 1-2 in Women's Tournament

Host Italy defeated Smile Japan 3-2 in a women's Group B preliminary round match on Monday, February 9.

Matilde Fantin had a pair of first-period goals to give underdog Italy a commanding lead.

Early in the second period, Japan's Rui Ukita cut the deficit to 2-1.

Later in the middle period, Canadian-born forward Kristin Della Rovere increased Italy's lead to 3-1 at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.

Then, with about 9 minutes remaining, Japan forward Akane Shiga made it 3-2 to keep the visitors' hopes alive. But neither team scored again.

Goalie Gabriella Durante had a strong outing for Italy, stopping 27 shots.

*Italy's Matilde Fantin (17) celebrates after scoring one of her two first-period goals against Japan. (©Tao Xiyi/Pool/via REUTERS)*

"I don't think there was a big difference between the skills of the two teams, but the first two goals we allowed is probably the reason we lost today," Japan coach Yuji Iizuka said after Monday's loss. "We need to get rid of the stress and fatigue so we can play our best tomorrow."

Smile Japan slipped to 1-2 in the preliminary round. The squad opened the tourney with a 3-2 triumph over France on February 6, followed by a 5-2 loss to Germany the next day.

In the 10-team women's ice hockey tourney, all five teams in Group A (placed in this group based on world rankings) and the three highest-ranked teams from Group B will move on to the quarterfinals.

After the completion of play on Monday, Japan sat in fourth place in Group B. Japan faces a must-win game against Sweden (3-0) on Tuesday night to have a shot at reaching the quarterfinals.