Scotty James has narrowly missed out on his first Olympic gold medal, despite recovering from a crash with a jaw-dropping second run in the men’s snowboard halfpipe final.
James held the lead heading into the final run before Japanese youngster Ayumu Hirano took the gold medal with the last run of the final with a top score of 96.00.
Hirano’s score pipped James’ best of 92.50, with Switzerland’s Jan Scherrer taking out the bronze with a top score of 87.25.
LIVE UPDATES: Urgent hearing to decide Russian teenager’s fate
Despite losing out on the gold, James said he was “absolutely, incredibly over the moon” after claiming his second Olympic medal after his bronze at Pyeongchang in the same event four years earlier.
“I really hope people don’t think that I’m at all disappointed,” he said.
“I came out and gave it my best shot and that’s all we can ask for as athletes. It’s been an incredible journey and to stand on the podium at the Olympic Games again is an incredible feat.
READ MORE: Durant’s icy response to blockbuster Simmons trade
READ MORE: Embiid’s savage Simmons farewell after Philadelphia exit
“I expected to have a really good battle with Ayumu and everyone in the field, it really could’ve been anyone’s today, and that was the most exciting. It’s exciting for our sport and what we’re doing moving forward.
“For me, as an Australian, aside from being here, to be even competing with these guys from where we come from, for me personally there’s a lot of pride in that.
“If I can display that and ride like that and pour my heart into what I’m doing, then I’ve had success, and I did that today.”
The Victorian native’s final began in catastrophic fashion after he nicked the lip of the halfpipe and tumbled into the snow and he admitted he was a little “nervous”.
After sitting in 10th position with score of 16.50 following his opening run, James returned a score of 92.50 with a ridiculous second run, moving himself into the gold medal position.
However, James left the door open for the Japanese star after scoring just 47.75 in his third run as Hirano came through with an incredible final run.
Retiring US snowboarding legend Shaun White finished fourth in his final Olympics with a score of 85.00.
While James is no spring chicken at 29, he has already set his sights to the 2026 Milan Games.
“I’m still really young, I’ve still got a lot of vision, I’m very driven,” he said.
“I made the joke before that I’ve got a bronze, got the silver and now I need to finish off my collection for the pool room with a gold in Italy, and Italy is one of my favourite countries.”