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Winter Olympics in PyeongChang Day Five

SCOTTY James stood at the top of the mountain knowing what was required and his coach threw the big ultimatum his way.

Jai Bednall and James McKern
9 min read
February 14, 2018 - 10:37PM
Scotty James competes in the half-pipe final. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
Scotty James competes in the half-pipe final. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Live: Winter Olympics Day Five

Scotty James claimed Australia’s second medal at the Winter Olympics but Shaun White stole the show on a huge day in PyeongChang.

ALL eyes were on the men’s half-pipe final on day five of the Winter Olympics as Australia’s Scotty James stared down US superstar Shaun White.

Japanese 19-year-old Ayumu Hirano eyed a huge boilover as he led after two of the three runs. But White responded with 97.75 on the final run of the event to confirm his status as the greatest of all time. James won bronze.

Aussie figure skaters Harley Windsor and Katia Alexandrovskaya fell painfully short of advancing to the second stage of their event during the days action.

10.30pm

Day Five medal wrap

Men’s snowboard half-pipe: 1. Shaun White (USA) 2. Ayumu Hirano (JAP) 3. Scotty James (AUS)

Men’s Nordic Combined: 1. Eric Frenzel (GER) 2. Akito Watabe (JAP) 3. Lukas Klapfer (AUT)

Women’s 1000m speed skating: 1. Jorien Ter Mors (NED) 2. Nao Kodaira (JAP) 3. Miho Takagi (JAP)

Luge Doubles:

10.00pm

James breaks down halfpipe run

Scotty James became a household name with his remarkable efforts in the halfpipe today and the gravity of the moment hasn’t been lost on him.

With a cupboard full of X Games and World Championship medals, the one he’ll cherish the most is the one he added to his collection today.

“I have had some really awesome medals and experiences in the past, but I think this is the one that really hits home for me,” James said on Channel 7.

“I’ve got that extra camaraderie and flying the Aussie flag and wearing the green and gold is something that I absolutely love.”

We all sat back in amazement as James soared through the air, twisting and contorting his body in ways many can only dream of.

But just what goes through the head of an athlete when they’re approaching a seven metre wall of ice?

“I was listening to ‘Back in Black’. I’m dropping in, talking to myself, saying, ‘OK, relax, Scotty. Get a good set on my trick,’” James said.

After throwing down a monster score on his first run, James put together a near perfect second run but a late falter saw his score tumble.

With his two rivals ahead of him, he knew what he had to do ahead of his final run and his coach put the question to him.

“Look, Scotsty, you have a decision. What colour medal do you want today?”

Sadly it didn’t pan out the way we’d all hoped it would have, but claiming an Olympic medal is no easy feat.

“I just went out there and gave it my best shot and did it in the Australian fashion, I hope,” James added.

8.20pm

Unified Korean hockey team scores

History has been made! The unified Korean women’s ice hockey team has scored for the first time at the PyeongChang Olympics.

Going up against Japan, the hometown team found themselves down 2-0 before putting the puck in the back of the net and sending the crowd into meltdown.

Randi Heesoo Griffin is the lucky player who will have their name etched into the record books for the unified team as the first ever goal scorer.

6.15pm

Wind continues to cause havoc

The blustery Korean conditions have again caused organisers problems with another event having to be moved.

As strong winds hit the slopes, the women’s individual biathlon competition has been shifted to tomorrow.

The wind isn’t only causing issues for the events as organisers have also had to close media centers caught up in the conditions while warning spectators to remain indoors.

5.00pm

Australian duo just miss cut

Figure skating duo Harley Windsor and Katia Alexandrovskaya have fallen agonisingly short of qualifying for the free program.

Needing to finish within the top 16, the pair sat in 18th position at the end of the short program and have seen their Olympic campaign come to an end.

Windsor made history after becoming Australia’s first indigenous Winter Olympian.

If the pairing had of eclipsed their season-best score of 66.45, they would have moved through to the next round in 13th spot.

Sadly a slight wobble by Russian born Alexandrovskaya on the second throw was enough to push them out of the cut.

4.20pm

Emotional Scotty James thanks Australia

Scotty James captured the nation’s hearts when he put it all on the line during the men’s snowboard halfpipe final.

By now we all know how the event unfolded with James claiming a first ever Olympic medal, sadly it wasn’t gold but the 23-year-old will long be an Australian legend.

After the event, an emotional James, surrounded by his family spoke to Channel 7 as he fought back the tears.

“I can’t really talk, honestly,” James said.

“Yeah it’s really cool … I’ve just had amazing support from all these people.

“A lot of the time a lot of people have told me I can’t and I took it in my stride most of the time and I don’t know, I just came out fighting.

“I’m the kid from Warrandyte Australia and that’s what I know how to do, so I did that and gave it my best shot today and it was awesome.

“Thank you everyone from home it’s been really cool, I just want to go home to my beloved country.

“In Warrandyte as well, I haven’t been there I’ve just been away training and things so I’m just excited now to enjoy this with all of my loved ones and my family and everyone here that’s supported me.”

2pm

Men’s half-pipe: White first, James third

Shaun White put together an epic final run to claim his third gold medal in Olympic men’s halfpipe, slicing through the gray South Korean sky on Wednesday to post a score of 97.75 for the 100th overall gold by the United States in the Winter Games.

The 31-year-old White trailed Japan’s Ayumu Hirano going into the last of the three runs in the 12-man final, but put together a daring set that included consecutive 1440-degree spins. The Flying Tomato threw his board in the air when his winning score flashed, setting off a delirious celebration.

White is the first American male to win gold at three separate Winter Olympics. Speedskater Bonnie Blair won gold in the 1988, 1992 and 1994 Games.

Hirano, who vaulted into the lead during his second run with a score of 95.25, took silver.

Scotty James won bronze for Australia to become his country’s first men’s snowboard medallist at a Winter Olympics. James got his medal with his first run of 92 points but ultimately couldn’t match the silky skills of White.

“I came out and did it the Australian way — and just gave it a hard crack,” James told Channel 7. “I was expecting a good battle and a battle it was. I wish I had landed my second run but it is what it is.”

The billing of the best three men’s halfpipe riders on the planet certainly lived up to the hype and the gold medal was very much on the line going into the final run.

It was the jubilant White who came up with the goods though, capturing his third Games halfpipe gold on the last run of competition as he overtook young gun Hirano.

Second last down the ‘pipe, James had his chance to move further up the podium but dragged his arm in his second run and fell on his final effort.

Many riders had struggled with the timing of their tricks on Wednesday, Japan’s Yuto Totsuka feeling it most brutally after crashing heavily on the halfpipe coping and being taken from the course in a sled.

James becomes the second Australian medallist of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics after Matt Graham won silver in the moguls.

It is Australia’s 14th Winter Olympics medal; another podium finish in South Korea ensuring the team will at least match the three-medal performance of Sochi four years ago. Fellow Australian Kent Callister was 10th.

“I get one opportunity every four years to show my country, Australia, what I do,” James said. “I think I displayed that as well as I could. I’m grateful to be standing here, and to get on the podium. With all my family here and being able to fly the flag.”

Scotty James crashed in his third run. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
Scotty James crashed in his third run. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

STANDINGS

1. Shaun White (USA) — 94.25, 55, 97.75*

2. Ayumu Hirano (Japan) — 35.25, 95.25*, 43.25

3. Scotty James (Australia) — 92*, 81.75, 40.25

4. Ben Ferguson (USA) — 43, 83.5, 90.75*

5. Patrick Burgener (Switzerland) — 84, 51, 89.75*

6. Chase Josey (USA) — 87.75, 52.25, 88.0*

7. Raibu Katayama (Japan) — 85.75, 25, 87*

8. Jake Pates (USA) — 47, 82.25*, 27

9. Jan Scherrer (Switzerland) — 31.25, 80.5*, 70.75

10. Kent Callister (Australia) — 20, 62*, 56.75

11. Yuto Totsuka (Japan) — 39.25*, 7, DNS

12. Peetu Piiroinen (Finland) — 4.5, 12.75, 13.5*

*Best score

1.30pm

Strong winds delay slalom

The start of Mikaela Shiffrin’s bid for multiple medals at the 2018 Olympics was delayed yet again when the women’s slalom was postponed from Wednesday to Friday because of strong winds.

It’s the third time in four days an Alpine skiing race was shelved because gusts made it too dangerous for competition.

Shiffrin originally was supposed to get started with the giant slalom on Monday; that race was rescheduled for Thursday and will now be her first at these Winter Games.

Weather permitting, that is.

The men’s downhill, which was supposed to open the 11-event Alpine program on Sunday, also was shifted to Thursday, when the forecast calls for a lessening of the swirling and blustery wind that has been creating problems.

Now Friday will also be a double-competition day, with Shiffrin attempting to defend her 2014 gold medal in the slalom, which will be held at the Yongpyong Alpine Center that hosts technical races, while the men compete in the super-G at the Jeongseon Alpine Center speed hill about 50km away. That super-G was originally scheduled for Thursday but was pushed to Friday once the men’s downhill was moved.

Snow was falling and wind blowing this way and that at Yongpyong on Wednesday. Already facing a bit of a time crunch because of all of the weather delays, organizers kept pushing back the first run of the two-run women’s slalom until eventually deciding to call it off about an hour after the original start time. The slalom is a race Shiffrin has dominated for five years, including her Olympic gold as a teenager and three consecutive world titles. Whenever she does get to head down the hill through the gates, the 22-year-old American will be attempting to become the first athlete to win the slalom at two Winter Games in a row.

12.30pm

Aussie figure skaters start well

Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya and Harley Windsor of Australia. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya and Harley Windsor of Australia. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

History-making Australian Harley Windsor and his figure skating partner Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya have given themselves a chance of making the second stage of competition at the Winter Olympics.

The pair skated a near-clean short program in PyeongChang on Wednesday to score 61.55, landing all throws but brought down with a wobble by Russian born Alexandrovskaya on the second.

To Hidden Citizens’ cover of the Rolling Stones’ classic Paint It Black, they nailed their opening throw.

It’s believed a score of around 65 would earn competitors qualification for the final 16, which would see them contest the free skate.

The Australians were short of their season-best 66.45.

The second pair to skate, they sit in the lead after the first three performances — almost four points ahead of Japanese pair Miu Sukzki and Ryuichi Kihara while South Korea’s entrants slipped on their first throw. Windsor has become Australia’s first indigenous Winter Olympian.

— AAP

9am

Day four: Final results

Men’s alpine skiing combined: 1. Marcel Hirscher (AUT) 2. Alexis Pinturault (FRA) 3. Victor Muffat-Jeandet (FRA)

Women’s snowboard half-pipe: 1. Chloe Kim (USA) 2. Liu Jiayu (CHN) 3. Arielle Gold (USA)

Women’s luge singles: 1. Natalie Geisenberger (GER) 2. Dajana Eitberger (GER) 3. Alex Gough (CAN)

Men’s cross-country sprint: 1. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) 2. Federico Pellegrino (ITA) 3. Alexander Bolshunov (OAR)

Women’s cross-country sprint: 1. Stina Nilsson (SWE) 2. Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR) 3. Yulia Belorukova (OAR)

Men’s speed skating 1500m: 1. Kjeld Nuis (NED) 2. Patrick Roest (NED) 3. Kim Min-seok (KOR)

Mixed curling: 1. Canada (Kaitlyn Lawes, John Morris) 2. Switzerland (Jenny Perret, Martin Rios) 3. Olympic Athletes from Russia (Anastasia Bryzgalova, Aleksandr Krushelnitckii)

Women’s short-track skating 500m: 1. Arianna Fontana (ITA) 2. Yara van Kerkhof (NED) 3. Kim Boutin (CAN)

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/winter-olympics/live-winter-olympics-in-pyeongchang-day-five/news-story/98798d71ae4b2718dde6a13046c50730