It’s 11:16 p.m. on Monday night, and I’m watching the Winter Olympics. Men’s halfpipe qualifying round. Ayumu Hirano, all five foot three and 110 pounds of him, who is from Japan, just made an incredibly dope run down the snowboard halfpipe. He got 16 feet of air above the pipe, then executed what must have been three or four 1040 degree spins in the air. He was so chill, the entire time, it was absolutely incredible. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. I’ve skied, but I’ve never snowboarded and I’m absolutely mesmerized by how they do it. These guys fly in the air, flip around three or four times, full rotation, and land it all as smooth as a cucumber and as cool as a Cuke. It’s dope. Now Shaun White, the veteran champion, is coming up next. Let’s see what he’s got.
Oops, it’s not Shaun White yet. The next dude, Tim Kevin something or other, he had a European last name, did a pretty good run himself, but he didn’t get the air of Hirano, and it just wasn’t as captivating. He didn’t seem too cool or laid-back, he seemed like he was stressing, and he f***** up a landing at the end too so I don’t think he’s going to make it.
Then Ben Ferguson, an American, came next, and he made an absolutely incredible, super dope run, he got incredible air, maybe even higher than Hirano, and he did a gigantic Air to Fakie, as it’s called, and he nailed it. He also did several 1080’s, and he was doing flips in the air too. He seemed so sure of himself, no doubt whatsoever, no fear. Just landing everything perfectly. This Ferguson dude is probably going to take the lead, that’s what I think.
So now I see he scored a 91, moving into first place, and Hirano is in second place.
So now this Finnish dude is up next. Marcus Malin from Finland. And right away he has a fall, so he’s out of it. He’s done. The final snowboarder of first round is Shaun White, the wily veteran champion. Let’s see what he’s got.
Oops, it’s not Shaun White yet actually. They’ve been promoting him at every break, just to get you to keep watching, but he’s not actually up yet.
Next step is actually Scotty James from Australia. 6’1”, 173 lbs, which is very tall for snowboarding. And he executes a pretty good run, I must say. So he gets a great score, and he’s second behind Ben Ferguson.
Now comes Shaun White, 31 years old, 5’-9”, 154 lbs. And he makes an incredible run. Lots of air, lots of 1080’s, and a special trick in the air that only he does. Only he can do it. It’s a two flips in the air 1260 degree turn. It was made famous in skateboarding, and Shaun White adapted it for snowboarding.
And there it is! Shaun White gets a 93.1 score, and vaults into first place. He’s still the king, even at 31, and he’s holding it down. Don’t fuck with Shaun White.
Jake Pates goes next, from the USA, and he makes a fairly unspectacular run, but it’s decent, and moves him from 14th place to 7th.
The next dude goes for a giant double cork 1080, and he totally bombs and lands on his ass. It was Jens something from Switzerland. So he’s done. Sucks for him.
Chase Josey is next, and he does a pretty confident pretty good damn good run. Not spectacular, workman like, but very good. He’s American too.
He scores an 83.75 and vaults into 7th place. Pretty good run.
19-year old Ayumu Hirano is up next for a second run. So he gets incredible backside air, so big. Maybe 16 or 17 feet above the halfpipe. Then he does back-to-back 1080’s. Then a backside 900hundred, pretty casual. And then he nails a smooth landing like it’s nothing at all. Like butter. Perfection and precision, he’s dope. The announcer says he’s immaculate.
And here it is! He scores a 95.25, and bolts in the first place. Gambare Hirano- san!
Tim Kevin something-or-other is next, and halfway through his run he falls on his ass, so he’s done for the day. The top 10 qualifiers, make that the top 12, advance to the finals.
Next up is American Ben Ferguson for a second run. He scored a 91 on his first run. He does a pretty incredible run, he does a switch stance McTwist, which is a 540 done at the most awkward position and angle possible. It’s pretty dope. It’s a trick. He didn’t get as much air as Hirano, but it was still a pretty great run. And he scores an 89.75, putting him in third place I believe. Which is just about where he should be. After Hirano and Shaun White.
Marcus Malin of Finland is next. And he’s got nothing, absolutely nothing. He gets virtually no air, his 1080’s are more like 900’s, and he misses a couple landings. He just looks lackluster as hell. So he’s probably gone too.
You can really see the separation between Shaun White, Hirano, and Ben Ferguson, and someone like Marcus Malin, who is out of their league. He can’t really compete with them.
Next up is Scotty James, Australiqn, and he starts out with back-to-back 1260’s, which is pretty incredible. It’s really a switched backside 1260. That’s what the announcer tells us. All I know is it sounds dope and hard as hell. Then he finishes with a backside 900 that looks pretty cool too. Good run for Scotty James.
Wow! He scores a 96.75, and vaults into first place. The Australia now leads the field.
And now, for the final run of the day, here comes Shaun White, laying down back-to-back 12 60’s himself. Then he does one of those flip tricks in the air that I just can’t freaking understand, because they absolutely defy gravity. It’s like he’s doing a backflip two times in the air, and he lands it perfectly. He got a ton, I mean a ton, of air on his first backside 1260, and I think he finished with a backside 900. It was an absolutely incredible run, and he looks like he’s the leader of the pack.
Shaun White at his highest point was 18.8 feet above the halfpipe. And he averaged 15 feet above the pipe on all runs.
So he gets a great score and catapults into first place, as he should do. He really seems like he’s just slightly better than all the rest of them, although Ayumu Hirano of Japan is just a hair behind him. They’re both incredible. It’s like the old guard versus the new guard.
Final standings for the day. Shaun White in first, Scotty James in second. Autumn Hirano in 3rd. Ben Ferguson in 4th.
And of course other dudes qualified as well. So we’ll see what happens tomorrow in the finals, but this was pretty dope to watch. I have a new appreciation for halfpipe snowboarding, and for the athletes who perform these alpine acrobatic feats. It’s pretty dope stuff. I think I’ll watch the finals tomorrow too. I’m now officially a fan.
