Snowboard star Scotty James claims record fourth halfpipe title at world championships in Switzerland

Australian snowboard star Scotty James has celebrated with an ice-cold snow boot “shoey” after his latest gold-medal feat at the world championships in Switzerland.

Australian star Scotty James has claimed a record fourth world snowboard halfpipe crown in Switzerland to cement his place among Australia’s greatest winter athletes ahead of next year’s Winter Olympics.

Celebrating his victory with a celebratory champagne snow boot “shoey” on the podium, the 30-year-old claimed Australia’s first gold medal of the FIS snowboard, freestyle and freeski world championships at a snowy St Moritz.

James’ fourth world crown added to his successive world half-pipe titles in 2015, 2017 and 2019 and provides the perfect platform for his pursuit of gold at the Winter Games in Italy next February.

Boasting the highest number of world championship wins among Australian winter sports athletes, James will be aiming to add gold to his bronze from Pyeongchang in 2018 and silver from Beijing in 2022.

Scotty James won a fourth world snowboard halfpipe crown. Picture: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

After finishing fifth at the last world championships in Georgia in 2023, James said he had been determined to get back on top in Switzerland.

“Last world champs was not a good day for me, I was pretty disappointed with my outcome and I wanted to make a bit of a statement (today) for myself personally,” James said.

“I wanted to come back and finish it on top. To have won four world titles, I’m pinching myself. It’s amazing.”

James defied challenging weather conditions to defeat Japanese pair Hirano Ruka (92.25) and Totsuka Yuto (92.00), claiming the win with a second-round score of 95.00.

Celebrating with a shoey in the alps. Picture: Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP

The third-last rider of the day, James had a nervous wait as he watched the Japanese duo complete their runs before knowing if he had done enough to clinch the gold.

“Coming out this week it was such a challenge, with the weather and to ride at this level is already so high, and I definitely was not sitting there feeling ok when Ruka and Yuto were dropping, they have been riding incredibly well all season and I have had some great battles with them,” James said.

James set a record with his fourth win. Picture: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

“Halfpipe is a scary sport, and it gets even scarier when conditions are tough. I’m really pumped and felt like I had to be resilient today, so I’m stoked.

“Honestly, I didn’t really know what conditions to expect, I knew that it was going to be slow and the pipe was full of snow, and maybe runs might be toned down a bit, but then again once the good slip of the pipe gets through and you get a bit of momentum, you can usually get some better runs going.”

James’ gold completed a double medal celebration for Australia on the penultimate day of competition after Mia Clift and Cam Bolton claimed silver in the snowboard cross mixed team event earlier in the day.

Originally published as Snowboard star Scotty James claims record fourth halfpipe title at world championships in Switzerland