Ayumu Hirano competes in the men's snowboarding halfpipe qualifying on February 11, 2026, at the Milan Cortina Olympics in Livigno, Italy. (©Dylan Martinez/REUTERS)
Defending Olympic champion Ayumu Hirano has advanced to the men's snowboarding halfpipe final.
In doing so, he set aside questions about whether he'd be strong enough to compete at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Hirano overcame multiple injuries, including to his right hip and right knee, that he sustained in an FIS Snowboarding World Cup competition on January 17 in Laax, Switzerland.
Back in action at the Olympics, on Wednesday, February 11 (starting Thursday at 3:30 AM JST, the 27-year-old Niigata Prefecture native secured a place in the 12-man final. He placed seventh in qualifying with 85.50 points. That was the total of his second run, which featured 1,440-degree spins, a signature trick for the four-time Olympian.
The halfpipe final is on Friday night (Saturday 3:30 AM JST).
On Hirano's first qualifying run, he received 83.00 points. Only the top run is used for the entrant's score.
After qualifying wrapped up, Hirano shared his mindset for the final.
"I'm not thinking too much about winning," he was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. "I just want to do my best and the results will come from that."
In evaluating his performance, Hirano said, "My runs were decent given the condition I'm in," Kyodo News reported.
Japan teammates Yuto Totsuka, Ryusei Yamada and Ruka Hirano (not related) were second (91.25), third (90.25) and fifth (87.50) in qualifying.
Australia's Scotty James was No 1 with 94.00 points.
Ayumu Hirano Stays Focused for the Final
Knowing that his physical condition isn't 100%, Hirano acknowledged that he's facing a unique challenge at Livigno Snow Park. And he needed to make some adjustments to his competitive approach.
"What I've done today in qualifying is something I've only just tried [since getting injured]," the 2014 and 2018 Olympic halfpipe silver medalist said, according to Kyodo News.
Ayumu Hirano continued: "I'm taking on these challenges not knowing how much pain they would cause. I don't know how much I can do, but I can only do what I'm capable of [now] and I'll focus on them in the final."
Ono Places 3rd in Women's Halfpipe
In the women's halfpipe final on Thursday night, Japan's Mitsuki Ono had her best showing of the medal round on her first run.
And, as it turned out, that clinched a bronze medal for her in Livigno.
Ono's medal-winning run, highlighted by a frontside 1080, was given a score of 85.00 points.
Only South Korean gold medalist Gaon Choi (90.25), who is No 1 in the 2025-26 World Cup halfpipe rankings, and Chloe Kim of the United States (88.00) were better.
"I just am really happy to get the medal with amazing girls," Ono told reporters. "They push me a lot, they inspire me. I'm just so happy."
Kim was vying for a third straight Olympic gold.
Japan's Sara Shimizu, who is 16, was fourth with 84.00 points. Teammate Rise Kudo, another 16-year-old, finished fifth (81.75). Sena Tomita placed ninth (68.25).
Ono, 21, placed ninth in the same event at the Beijing Olympics. She exhibited her talent on the big stage with consecutive third-place finishes at the world championships in 2023 and '25.
Earlier in the day, Choi crashed on her first run and said later that her knees "are a bit bad."
Freestyle Skiing
Horishima Repeats as Moguls Bronze Medalist
Veteran skier Ikuma Horishima fell short of his ultimate goal, but collected an Olympic bronze medal in the men's moguls for the second straight Winter Games.
On Thursday, Horishima placed third with 84.44 points at Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park.
The 28-year-old pinpointed the score from the jumps portion of the event as the key factor in his overall score. He cited his somewhat shaky 1,440-degree spin performance on his final run as a disappointing aspect of the final.
"I think everything apart from the 1440 was perfect," Horishima said, according to Kyodo News. "I'd have won gold had I nailed it."
Horishima also spoke about his competitive strategy after the gold medal went to Australia's Cooper Woods and the silver to Canada's Mikael Kingsbury.
"If I went with a 1080, I'd have won gold by nailing it, but no medal if I didn't make it," Horishima was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. "The 1440 kept me on the podium."
Curling
Japan Women Drop Pair of Matches on 1st Day
On the opening day of the Olympic women's curling competition, Sweden topped Japan 8-4 at the Cortina Curling Stadium on Thursday morning.
Later in the day, Denmark defeated Japan 10-7 in an extra end.
Japan, the silver medalist at the 2022 Olympics, is led by a new skip, Sayaka Yoshimura, at this tournament. Curling clubs compete at the national championships to represent Japan on the global stage. Previously, Satsuki Fujisawa's squad represented Japan at the Olympics.
In the earlier match against Sweden, Japan trailed 4-1 after the fourth end. Sweden increased its lead to 5-1 heading into the fifth end.
Japan cut it to 5-3 in the sixth end, but Sweden answered with two more points in the seventh to raise the margin to 7-3 en route to a convincing victory.
In the Japan-Denmark match, the teams were knotted at 7-7 after the 10th end.
Starting in the seventh end, Japan picked up four points before the end of regulation, including one in the 10th, to extend the match to a bonus end.
Denmark skip Madeleine Dupont provided the winning margin for her team to conclude the extra end. Displaying nerves of steel, Dupont delivered a raised take-out, ricocheting her on-target stone off a second stone that bounced off another stone for three points.
Takeaways from Japan vs Denmark
Vice-skip Yuna Kotani led Japan with 83% shot success, followed by Anna Ohmiya's 80%. Denise Dupont was Denmark's most accurate player on shots at 81%.
After the match against Denmark, Kotani said her team will quickly turn the figurative page.
"Their final shot was just a great one," Kotani said of Denmark's skip, according to Sports Nippon. "We believe we're strong from here on out. Tomorrow (Friday) is a day off, so we want to reset our mindset and approach [Saturday's] match against Switzerland with a fresh attitude."
Yoshimura was pleased with Japan's gradual improvement during the match.
"In the first half, we couldn't finish our own ends and gave up steals," Yoshimura said, according to the sports publication. "But in the final end, we were trailing by one and had the hammer, and we entered it in a good position. I think we're starting to show some tenacity."
The 10-nation women's curling tournament runs from February 12 to 22.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Follow Ed's [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and he can be found on X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
