Snowboarders typically hold back in qualifying. That wasn't the case Wednesday night in men's halfpipe at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, as nine of the 12 riders who advanced posted scores of 80-plus in one of the wildest qualifying rounds the sport has seen.
Australia's Scotty James — in line for Olympic gold after bronze in 2018 and silver in 2022 — led the way by linking five straight double cork off-axis spins for a 94.00, while Japan's elite squad took 2nd (Yuto Totsuka, 91.25), 3rd (Ryusei Yamada, 90.25), 5th (Ruka Hirano, 87.50) and 7th (Ayumu Hirano, 85.50).
"It's freezing out here, but the riding was a heater in that sense," said James, winner of the last five X Games. "If you wanted to finish high, it was going to be really hard. I was really happy to put my runs down and really proud to just be here riding. It's going to be exciting on Friday [for the final]."
The reigning world champion capped his first run with a big combo: a switch backside 1440 into back 1260 — the former, a trick only he and Ruka Hirano have landed, and the latter, a spin he'll almost surely upgrade to 1440 in the final.
Seventeen-year-old Alessandro Barbieri of Portland, Ore., took 4th with an 88.50, landing a stylish switch 900 followed by a 1440, a pair of 1260s and a 1080. American teammates Chase Josey and Jake Pates also advanced, squeezing through in 11th and 12th.
"This quality is one of the craziest I've been a part of," Barbieri said. "People are bringing their A-game, [but] I was able to put down a clean run and qualify pretty high."
Barbieri's parents are from Milan. They immigrated to the U.S. two years before he was born. "Every single family member I can think of was born in Italy," he said. "I have my friends and my cousins [here]. My grandparents will be out for the finals, maybe."
For Japan, Totsuka landed two 12s and two 14s (one of them a triple cork) in a single run, while Yamada and Ruka Hirano linked a pair of 14s with a 12. Defending gold medalist Ayumu Hirano (no relation to Ruka) hit four double corks of 1080 or more degrees.
"I planned to do the triple [cork], but I didn't think I'd spin it that high," Totsuka said. "I ended up doing it because I was pushed by everyone else landing their tricks, and I really felt that this kind of high-pressure competition is incredibly exciting."
The triple cork 1440 was 2022's signature trick, and Ayumu Hirano was the only rider to land one in the Beijing final en route his gold. On Wednesday, Kiwi Cam Melville Ives (8th, 84.75) recorded the first of Milan Cortina, with Totsuka, Barbieri, James, Pates and two others either landing or attempting one.
Japan already has two snowboarding golds at these Winter Olympics in both men's and women's big air.
Shaun White was in attendance for the qualifying, cheering on Barbieri and the U.S. contingent. Four years to the day, White took his final ride on the Olympic stage, finishing just off the podium in fourth at age 35 to cap off a legendary career. Italy marks the first Olympics since 2002 he's not in the pipe.
"These runs are getting heavier and heavier. These guys are all holding back their biggest tricks, so we're in for a treat," White told NBC. "[This] felt like a finals. We saw a lot, but we haven't seen anything yet."
Earlier Wednesday, Americans Chloe Kim and Maddie Mastro finished 1st and 3rd in the women's qualifying.
The men's snowboard halfpipe final is Friday, Feb. 13, at 1:30 p.m. ET. You can watch it live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
Men's Snowboard Halfpipe Qualifiers
- Scotty James, Australia (94.00)
- Yuto Totsuka, Japan (91.25)
- Ryusei Yamada, Japan (90.25)
- Alessandro Barbieri, United States (88.50)
- Ruka Hirano, Japan (87.50)
- Valentino Guseli, Australia (86.75)
- Ayumu Hirano, Japan (85.50)
- Campbell Melville Ives, New Zealand (84.75)
- Lee Chaeun, South Korea (82.00)
- Wang Ziyang, China (80.50)
- Chase Josey, United States (76.50)
- Jake Pates, United States (75.50)