Hinako Tomitaka Misses Out on Moguls Bronze Due to Tiebreaker

Tiebreakers can produce the razor-thin difference between sheer euphoria and overwhelming disappointment. Japan's Hinako Tomitaka experienced the latter emotion in the women's freestyle skiing moguls final on Wednesday, February 11 at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

What happened?

Tomitaka finished fourth in the high-paced, high-flying event after completing the final with 78.00 points at Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park. France's Perrine Laffont had the same point total but won the tiebreaker.

Participants receive points for three components of the moguls competition: time, air and turns.

Turns, which are evaluated by five judges, are the tiebreaker. In this case, Laffont had 46.2 points for her turns, and Tomitaka finished with 46.0.

As a result, Laffont claimed her second Olympic moguls medal eight years after winning the gold medal in South Korea. Elizabeth Lemley and Jaelin Kauf of the United States finished 1-2.

"I attacked that final run and came within one step of the podium," said Tomitaka, the silver medalist at the 2025 world championships, according to Nikkan Sports.

In the duel for third place, Laffont was faster than Tomitaka in the final, completing her run in 26.16 seconds. Tomitaka's time: 27.03. Quicker times deliver higher point totals for that phase of the event. For instance, Laffont got 17.24 points for her time, while Tomitaka received 16.22.

Tomitaka, an Olympic debutante at the 2022 Beijing Games, kept herself in medal contention with a stronger showing on jumps. She outscored Laffont 15.78 to 14.56 for jumps.

Reaction from Hinako Tomitaka

After placing 19th in moguls in Beijing, Tomitaka lamented the fact that she came so close to earning a medal this time.

"Thinking I could have gotten onto the podium by finishing 0.1 seconds faster, I feel it's really close," an emotional Tomitaka was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. "But the difference between finishing fourth and third is massive."

She also commented on other crucial factors that determined her overall score.

"The snow conditions changed midway through my run and my foot got stuck, which caused my legs to come apart," the 25-year-old said, according to Kyodo News.

"There were more mistakes in the aerials as well, from the first one, where I jumped slightly to my right. I'm sure I had points docked for that; it's frustrating."

After nabbing the bronze, Lafont spoke about the importance of self-belief.

"Today was the definition of an emotional rollercoaster," the French Olympian told reporters in Livigno. "It's proof that you have to believe in yourself right until the end."

Earlier in the day, Tomitaka was in third place out of 20 entrants after the first run (Final 1), which is comparable to a semifinal in other sports. That booked a spot for her in the eight-woman medal round, aka the super final.

A Look Ahead

Hinako Tomitaka is set to participate in the women's dual moguls on Saturday, February 14.

In that event, two skiers compete simultaneously on parallel courses in what team sports aficionados would recognize: a bracket-style format. In short, win and advance.

"I want to channel this frustration into giving my all in the duals," Tomitaka said, according to Nikkan Sports.