Men's Snowboarding Halfpipe Qualifying Results and Final Scores from Olympics 2026

Australia's Scotty James made a statement to the rest of the competitors in the men's snowboard halfpipe with the highest qualifying score on Wednesday at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

James earned a score of 94.00 from the judges after a scintillating first run, gaining the advantage of going last in Friday's final. The top 12 finishers in two runs from the 25-man qualifying field advanced to the medal round.

17-year-old Alessandro Barbieri was Team USA's highest finisher in fourth place with a score of 88.50. Chase Josey (76.50) and Jake Pates (75.50) placed 11th and 12th, respectively, to barely make it to the final, while Chase Blackwell (69.00) fell short.

Japan's Ayumu Hirano, who won the Olympic gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Games, scored an 85.50 in his second run to qualify for the final in seventh place. Hirano suffered an injury in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics but still returned to defend his gold medal. His teammates, Yuto Totsuka (91.25) and Ryusei Yamada (90.25), were the only competitors who joined James in topping the 90-point mark.

A five-time Olympian, James is hoping to win his first gold medal at the Winter Games, and he put himself in a position to finally achieve the one thing that has eluded him in his illustrious career. The reigning world champion made a bold declaration ahead of the competition about his goals for the event.

"I've had an awesome lead-in to this, which has been the dream," James said. "And my plan this year, regardless of the results, is to try and revolutionize halfpipe snowboarding in the way I would interpret it."

Now, James has moved one step closer to his goal by qualifying for Friday's final.