Hirano is the reigning gold medalist in the event. He also took back-to-back silvers in 2014 and 2018. He can't be completely counted out of the medal race either. He won the first halfpipe event on the FIS World Cup circuit this season.

The Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Final at the 2026 Winter Olympics is set for Friday, February 13, 2026, at Livigno Snow Park in Italy, where the world’s best riders will compete for Olympic medals after qualifying earlier in the week.

Scotty James, Ayumu Hirano and Cam Melville Ives are among the names to know as men's snowboard halfpipe commences with the qualifying round on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Seventeen-year-old Oregon snowboarder Alessandro Barbieri will have his shot to capture a gold medal on Friday in the men's halfpipe final after an impressive qualifier at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

Yuto Totsuka of Japan won the gold medal in the men's snowboard halfpipe at the Winter Olympics on Friday in a hard-fought battle that ended with Australian Scotty James just missing out on the big prize that has eluded him through five Games.

It was an upset that surpassed three-peat hopeful Chloe Kim.

In the halfpipe, it felt like the American men were outgunned from the start, and especially by the riders from Japan.