Hiroto Ogiwara Tops Men's Snowboarding Big Air Qualifying at Olympics 2026

Japan's Hiroto Ogiwara was the only competitor to have two runs score over 88 points in Thursday's men's snowboard big air qualifying.

Ogiwara earned a score of 90.50 on his opening run. He followed that up with 88 points on his second run to claim the top seed going into Saturday's final.

Ogiwara was one of three Japanese athletes to finish in the top five of qualifying. Reigning big air gold medalist Yiming Su of China qualified fourth.

Teenager Oliver Martin was the only American to land in the top 12 spots that secured qualification to the final.

Men's Snowboard Big Air Qualifying Results

1. Hiroto Ogiwara (Japan) - 178.50
2. Ian Matteoli (Italy) - 174.50
3. Kira Kimura (Japan) - 173.25
4. Yiming Su (China) - 172.75
5. Taiga Hasegawa (Japan) - 172.25
6. Francis Jobin (Canada) - 170.75
7. Lyon Farrell (New Zealand) - 170.00
8. Rocco Jamieson (New Zealand) - 168.25
9. Oliver Martin (United States) - 167.50
10. Ryoma Kimata (Japan) - 164.75
11. Dane Menzies (New Zealand) - 164.00
12. Valentino Guseli (Australia) - 163.00

Hiroto Ogiwara had the best combination of high-scoring runs in qualifying.

Ogiwara was one of three snowboarders to record a score over 90 in any of their three runs on Thursday.

The top qualifier from Japan unleashed a run worth 90.50 points on his first trip down the hill. He followed that up with an 88-point run.

Italy's Ian Matteoli earned the highest score of any individual jump on Thursday. He had a 93.75-point score on his opening jump. His second jump wasn't as good as Ogiwara's, but the first leap proved he has what it takes to finish in the medal positions.

There's a chance that Matteoli could win the first gold medal on home soil for Italy since the big air final takes place on Saturday.

Yiming Su is the only medalist from 2022 with a shot to earn a spot on the medal stand in 2026. The reigning gold medalist finished fourth in qualifying. He was fifth in qualifying four years ago.

Oliver Martin was the only American to finish inside the top 12. Jake Canter, Red Gerard and Sean Fitzsimons finished in 15th, 20th and 25th, respectively.

The story of the day was Australia's Valentino Guseli, who qualified in 12th. Guseli was a late entrant into the field after Canada's Mark McMorris withdrew due to an injury suffered in training earlier this week.

Saturday's final starts at 1:30 p.m. ET. There will be three rounds of jumps to determine the medalists.