Hirano then landed a 96 in a high-risk push down the pipe to take the gold.

The Japanese rider was the most consistent of the snowboarders on Friday, ending the final as the only man to score twice in the 90s and land the hardest trick in the sport, twice – a triple cork that forces riders end over end three times while flying six metres above the pipe.

“It’s not a trick to mess around with, the margin for error is none,” said James, a triple world halfpipe champion from Warrandyte in Victoria.

“I think really with the triple cork, it’s kind of the pinnacle, unless we build a bigger pipe it’s hard to really push much more than a triple cork because you can’t go high enough.”

James made the decision not to attempt the triple cork ahead of his run after seeing half-a-dozen riders fail to get enough air to successfully land the trick.

“It’s not like, ‘Oh, that’s too hard. I can’t do that’,” he said. “I’ve done it. I didn’t obviously get done today. But I know what I can do moving forward.”

US legend Shaun White – in his final Olympic Games after three gold medals in this event – finished fourth.

White and James had an emotional moment at the bottom of the slopes after they had finished their runs. James had grown up looking up to White and had now beaten the triple Olympic champion in his final Games.

“I’m super proud of you,” White told James. “Keep going bud.”

Halfpipe is scored out of the best of three runs – allowing riders to throw everything at each run in the hope of snaring a medal. A dozen riders fell attempting to go big on the icy halfpipe in challenging conditions on Friday morning.

Young gun Australian Valentino Guseli got huge air on the first of his runs – pushing him into second spot on the standings halfway through the contest. The 16-year-old finished in sixth place after a best run of 79.75. He was one of the few riders to make it to the bottom of the slope at each attempt.

“That’s snowboarding, you know,” he said. “It can go either way”

Guseli said James was right in the mix for the gold until Hirano’s “flawless” final run.

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“I think Scotty absolutely killed it. And I’m super happy for him. He bettered his results from last time and I’m sure he’s gonna continue to kill it around the world,” he said.

James had a slight wobble on his final run, costing the chance of completing his full routine with a front double 1440.

“I think if he put down his last hit, it would have been very, very close,” said Guseli,

“Triple corks are here and they’re here to stay. Now I’ve just got to go and learn them and compete with the big dogs.”

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