Winter olympics snowboarding half-pipe recap
Nathaniel Judson, Daily Seal Student Writer
The Winter Olympics snowboarding half-pipe is one of the most exciting events in the winter olympics consisting of speed, skill, and creativity. The half-pipe was first introduced in 1988 at the Nagano Winter Olympics, helping bring snowboarding into the eyes of the world. Skiing was the more focused winter sport first introduced in 1936. Bringing snowboarding into the Olympics brought more attention to the sport and helped it gain popularity. The halfpipe event at this year’s 2026 Milan-Cortina, did not disappoint.
In the event participants ride into the U-shaped ramp made of snow, called a half pipe. Athletes build momentum by riding down the wall and launching high into the air, alternating the wall they go off after each jump. During their runs they perform a series of tricks, flips, and grabs. The judges score them based on difficulty, height, execution, and style. The snowboarders try to get in as many tricks as possible without falling, making each run a mix of precision and thrill. Each rider gets three runs to try and get the best score possible, after all three runs are up the highest score out of all the runs is the only one that will count. In the Olympics competitors compete in one qualifying round to get to the final round(medal round). The qualifying round determines the top 12 who move on to the final round. The final round is the same format as the first round, each rider gets 3 runs and the top one counts.
In the snowboarding halfpipe there are three medal spots, gold, silver, and bronze. The highest scorer in the medal round claims the gold medal, the second highest claims the silver medal, and the 3 best scores get the bronze medal.
For the medal round there were 2 medal winners from Japan: Yūto Totsuka who won gold and Ryusei Yamada who got bronze. Yūto Totsuka with a score of 95/100 had the highest out of the men’s and women’s halfpipe, Ryusei Yamada had a score of 92/100. The other medal winners were 1 from The United States Of America: Chloe Kim with a silver medal and a score of 88 holding first place until South Korea’s Gaon Choi received a score of 90.25 securing her spot for the gold medal. The last medal winner was Scotty James of Australia with an impressive score of 93.5 securing his spot for the silver medal. This Olympics snowboarding Olympics half-pipe was one of the most exciting in a long time, with many first time medalists receiving gold or silver medals, every Olympics many new tricks are invented/performed. This winter olympics gold medal winner for the men performed a triple cork 1440 to secure his score of 95 and stay in the gold medal spot. The winter olympics snowboarding half-pipe showcases fearless athletes who push the limits of what is possible on snow.
The Daily Seal 
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