Snowboarder Scotty James retains halfpipe world title in Spain

Australia’s halfpipe hero Scotty James has ticked the box at every major event he has entered this season.

Scotty James soars on the way to victory on the halfpipe at the world championships in Spain.

X Games gold medal? Tick. Olympic test event victory? Tick. World Cup series title? Tick. Successful world title defence? Tick, tick, tick.

Australia’s halfpipe hero Scotty James has ticked the box at every major event he has entered this season, culminating in a final soaring triumph at the world snowboarding championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain early yesterday morning.

James, 22, was so dominant that he did not need to do his third and final run, electing to do a ­victory lap instead, high-fiving fans on the way.

The work was done well before that as he became the first man to win two consecutive halfpipe world championships.

Wearing his now signature red “Boxing Kangaroo’’ gloves, James completed a strong first run of 95.75 points to lead the comp­etition early. That would have been enough to seal the win, but he improved again in the second round, scoring a season-high 97.50 points, after he was challenged by reigning Olympic champion Iouri Podladtchikov, who scored 93.25 points on his second run.

However Switzerland’s “I-Pod’’ was unable to improve on his last run, when he miscalculated his final trick, and James collected the gold medal.

“I was ready to bounce back if one of the guys knocked me off the top,” James said. “I switched it up after my first run and started instead with a front-side nine and did the back-side 1260 (his biggest trick, three and a half spins with two off-axis flips) on the second hit and that was the biggest thing that I was focusing on — especially with a field like that. I knew I had to do that to finish first or on the podium.’’

The Melbourne snowboarder has established himself as an Olympic gold medal contender this year and vowed to be a moving target for his rivals in the 11 months before the Winter Games start in PyeongChang, South Korea next February.

“The biggest thing for me is that it’s awesome to finish (the season) on a high and I am feeling great on my board and everything that has happened is a credit to my approach in the off-season,’’ he said. “I will keep on training really hard. Being 187cm (the tallest man in the pipe), I have to keep up the physical side. That’s been really important to me this year so I have to stay on top of that and make the most of every halfpipe I get to ride and try to learn some new things.

“The next 11 months is huge for most of the riders because they’re all very hungry for what everyone wants and that’s a gold medal.”

James’ triumph took Aust­ralia’s medal tally at the world freestyle skiing and snowboarding championships to four in as many days, just one short of the Australian record, with a number of chances still to come.

The two 15-year-old kids who made their Olympic debuts at the 2010 Vancouver Games, James and moguls skier Britt Cox, are now world champions, illustrating the benefits of showing faith in young athletes.

The aerial skiing team also achieved a historic first in Sierra Nevada, winning medals in both men’s and women’s competition for the first time. Danielle Scott won the silver medal in the women’s event, and Olympic silver medallist David Morris collected his first world championship medal (bronze) in the men’s event.

The consistent Scott was the only member of the world-class women’s team to reach the medal round and performed a career-best triple-twisting double somersault that scored 94.47 points.

But she was outgunned by American Ashley Caldwell, who became the first woman to land a quad-twisting triple in comp­etition, and was the runaway winner with 109.29 points.

It was a more difficult day for the rest of the high-flying Aust­ralian women’s team. Former world champion Laura Peel finished eighth, Samanth Wells was 10th and 2010 Olympic champion Lydia Lassila was 11th.

Quad-twisting triples also won the men’s event as American Jonathan Lillis (125.79) defeated former world champion Qi Guangpu (120.36) and Morris (114.93).

The 32-year-old Australian has had a trying season beset by injury and poor training but he has a reputation for getting it right on the night and proved it again in Spain.

“I got all the way to the super final and had a little freak out at the top, but went big and it worked out pretty well,” he said. That has given Morris confidence that he can contend for a medal again at next year’s Olympics.