LIVIGNO, Italy — As Friday’s sun began to fade in Livigno, the temperatures fell with it.
Rather than heading inside and possibly grabbing a cozy dinner, the Olympic fans bundled up and headed out to the Livigno Snow Park for the men’s snowboard halfpipe final.
A widely popular event at the Winter Games since its inception in 1998, Friday night’s competition saw fans pack the base, sides and top of the halfpipe.
There were large Australian and Japanese contingents. The Australians were hoping to see compatriot Scotty James win an elusive gold medal in his sixth Games. The Japanese wanted defending gold medalist Iyumu Hirano to back up his win from Beijing in 2022.
There was also an ample American crowd cheering on snowboarders Jake Pates, Alessandro Barbieri and Chase Josey.
Unfortunately for the Australians, James would be heading home with his second straight silver medal. James landed his second run to a 93.50 score, which disappointed him. He fell on the final jump of his third and final run, sealing Japan’s Yuto Totsuka’s gold medal.
Totsuka landed his second run for the winning score of 95.
Totsuka’s Japanese teammate Ryusei Yamada took home the bronze medal with a score of 92 on his opening run.
“The Olympics is always amazing,” said Leo Nelson, a fan from Australia. “Scottie is an absolute hero of Australia. … It’s unfortunate that he couldn’t win tonight.
Nelson has been driving all around Northern Italy, relishing in Australia’s two gold and one silver medals.
“This is the premiere event of the Olympics,” Nelson said. “It absolutely felt like it in the stands. … There was an electricity in the air that cannot be explained.”
Talia Mithiske and Matt Byrnes also came from Australia for the Games and left feeling inspired by their nation’s fan turnout.
“Our first Olympic experience, that was a great time,” Byrnes said. “It’s awesome. We’ll definitely be back.”
Pates, Barbierri and Josey finished in eighth, 10th and 11th place.
“That was the craziest snowboard halfpipe event to have ever happened,” Pates said. “I’ve never ridden that well in my entire life. … It’s a combination of everybody pushing each other, such high energy and the facility and halfpipe being perfect.”
Pates said he believes he and Team USA are close to closing the gap with Japan. Japan has better-funded halfpipe airbag technology, allowing its snowboarders to train stronger year-round. Coming back from an injury he suffered in 2024, Pates decided to eat the cost and spent the summer training in Japan to prepare for the Olympic season.
“There is a huge variable with the funding,” Pates said. “It puts it on the rider to have to go fly to Japan and spend months and months there training just like how the Japanese are doing. … That was the only way I’ve been able to come back and do this at all.”
Pates, who retired from 2020-24 due to mental health challenges, said he’s eager for the 2030 Games, at which Barbieri, just 17 years old, should be joining him. Pates is 27 and Josey is 30.
“I think it just takes dedication, belief in yourself, hard work and the U.S. riders are going to have to put up a little bit of money,” Pates said. “You just have got to want it. I think the sky is the limit. … The last six months have shown me that I can do anything I set my mind to.”
Barbierri was heartbroken Friday night to not land his second and third runs. His parents are from Italy and he wanted to succeed at these Games for them and the Italian fans.
“Today wasn’t my best day, so it’s going to be remembered as a painful day,” Barbieri said. “But I’ll move forward and ‘Just keep swimming,’ like Dory said in ‘Finding Nemo.'”
Barbieri is ranked 10th in the world in his third season on the World Cup tour. Josey tabbed him as the next U.S. hope for a men’s snowboard halfpipe medal.
“Just one step at a time, I’ll keep working on myself every day, a bit more this time,” Barbieri said. “You can’t become depressed. My family has kept fighting since they immigrated to the U.S., and they’ve always instilled the fight-or-flight mentality. So, I’ll definitely take this as motivation and won’t let it crumble me. I’ll be back stronger.”