Four years ago, the Beijing Olympics were the site of arguably the greatest halfpipe contest ever. These Milan Cortina Games might deliver an even better one.

The sport’s progression, as it tends to do during an Olympic year, is accelerating rapidly. And the number of riders who could be considered legitimate gold medal contenders is the highest it's been in ages.

With all these factors converging, men’s snowboard halfpipe is set to be one of the marquee events of these Winter Games. Competition begins Wednesday, Feb. 11 with the qualifying round. The top 12 riders will advance to the final set for Friday, Feb. 13. 

When talking about the favorites, the conversation has to start with Australia’s Scotty James. He’s made no secret about it: He wants to win in Livigno.

James, who will be competing at his fifth Olympics, earned bronze in 2018 and silver in 2022, but Olympic gold is the one prize missing from his résumé. The 31-year-old has been on an absolute tear lately, winning the Laax Open and X Games during the leadup to Milan Cortina.

"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."

For years, the way that James has revolutionized halfpipe riding is through his focus on backside — particularly switch backside — tricks.

Of the four directions that riders can spin down a halfpipe (frontside, backside, switch frontside, switch backside), switch backside is by far considered the most difficult to execute due to the awkwardness of the rotation. Years ago, James became the first rider to land the switch backside version of a double cork 1260. That trick set him apart from other riders and became a staple of his runs — one of the factors in his success over the years.

While a lot of the focus this year is on triple corks — and rightfully so — switch backside tricks could be just as important in determining the medalists in Livigno.

Quite a few riders, including Ayumu, have now unlocked the switch backside 1260. It’s no longer a trick that’s exclusive to James, but it’s hard to win a contest without it.

James has been hard at work, though. In January, he became the second rider to land a switch backside 1440 — Japan’s Ruka Hirano was the first — and then later became the first rider to land a switch backside 1440 and backside 1440 back-to-back in a halfpipe run.

Crafting a run that showcases difficult backside and switch backside tricks is a major part of his strategy for these Olympics.

"There's still only a handful of guys that are really doing switch backside riding. And this year, the majority of the field is doing two backside hits with three frontside hits because that's the direction they're pushing," he said. "This Games, I'm doing two frontside hits with three backside hits. So that's how I interpret it to be more technical, more difficult, more demanding physically."

That said, it would be a mistake to overlook the importance of the triple cork, another must-have ingredient for any rider hoping to top the podium. At the time of the last Olympics, only Ayumu Hirano had ever landed a triple cork in a halfpipe run. Now, James and many other riders have added at least one to their runs.

In fact, some riders have found a new avenue for pushing progression: landing two triple corks in a single run. New Zealand’s Cam Melville Ives, a 19-year-old who has taken the halfpipe scene by storm over the last year, was the first to pull off that feat. Ruka Hirano has taken it a step further and landed back-to-back triple corks (although the landing wasn’t perfect).

"I’m just going out here wanting to show the best snowboarding I have to offer," Melville Ives said. "Show the judges, the fans, just want to show them my best. If I land my best run, there’s not much more that I can ask for."

As for the pioneer of the triple cork, Ayumu Hirano, he remains one of the favorites but enters the Milan Cortina Games with some question marks after a heavy crash at last month’s Laax Open. Ayumu sustained injuries in that crash and could be seen bleeding from his mouth and nose. If healthy, the three-time Olympic medalist (and reigning champion) can never be discounted.

Ayumu leads a deep Japanese team that also includes Ruka Hirano, Yuto Totsuka and Ryusei Yamada. If James were to falter at all, a podium sweep is not out of the question for Japan.

One dark horse contender for the podium is American Alessandro Barbieri. At just 17 years old, Barbieri is already the top rider on the U.S. team. Not only does he have a deep bag of tricks that includes the triple cork and switch backside 1260, he also has a unique style that fans — and judges — like to see. Regardless of his performance in Livigno, Barbieri looks like a rider with a very bright future.

The U.S. will also be represented by Jake Pates, Chase Josey and Chase Blackwell.

The qualifying round for men’s snowboard halfpipe commences Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET and streams live on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.