Winter Olympics 2026 live updates: Day 7 latest with men’s snowboard halfpipe, skeleton underway after Klaebo gold

He could downplay it all he wanted — and, over the years, Scotty James certainly has — but deep down, the one gaping hole on his otherwise sterling snowboarding resume had to gnaw at him, even if just a little.

 The Australian had done everything in the sport save one thing: win an Olympic gold medal.

💬 “I wouldn’t be honest if I said I wouldn’t like to achieve the top spot,” he said this week.

The result of a spectacular second run: a 93.50, agonizingly close to, but still trailing, the leader Yuto Totsuka from Japan on 95.00.

Totsuka would earn gold by that margin, only after James suffered more heartbreak, falling on his last of two 1440s.

It was an especially competitive final with four boarders earning scores above 90.