Scotty James
At the age of 23, Scotty James created history as the first Australian male to win a snowboard Olympic medal at PyeongChang 2018. The 2017 World Champion, who was also the 2018 Australian Opening Ceremony Flag Bearer, came away with the bronze medal for Australia with a top score of 92.00 in the final, with American snowboarding legend Shaun White claiming gold with an untouchable 97.75 and Japan's Ayumu Hirano coming in second with a score of 95.25.The three-time Olympian was the youngest male competitor at
the Vancouver Olympics when he made his debut in the snowboard halfpipe aged
15. After his teammate Nate Johnstone was disappointingly ruled out of the
Games with an ankle injury at the last minute, James rushed to the Quebec for
the final qualifier to achieve the top 19 result that would make him eligible
to replace Johnstone. He came 15th which secured him a ticket to Vancouver,
where he produced a fantastic performance to finish 21st.
In the lead-up to his second Games appearance, James secured
a string of top-10 performances on the World Cup circuit in both halfpipe and
slopestyle and qualified for Sochi in both disciplines. At the 2013 World
Championships in Stoneham, Canada, he notched a career best performance of
sixth in the halfpipe - also placing 16th in Slopestyle. Competing at the last
event of the 2013/14 season before the Sochi Games, James won his first World
Cup medal - bronze in the halfpipe. The medal in addition to two top-10 finishes
at the other World Cups in the season meant that James was the highest point
scorer, earning him the Overall World Cup Title for snowboard halfpipe, his
first Crystal Globe.
As Australia’s only male competitor in the inaugural Olympic
Snowboard Slopestyle competition in Sochi, James just missed out on a place in
the final, finishing eighth in the semi-final and 16th overall. In the
halfpipe, he made a shock exit from the competition when he didn’t make it
through the heats. Tough judging in his first run and an unfinished program in
the second brought his Sochi Games to a premature end in 21st place
After taking out the Halfpipe World Championships in 2015,
James had the ‘perfect season’ in 2017. The 23-year-old successfully defended
his World Championships crown at Sierra Nevada with an untouchable score of
97.50. He entered the championships as the number one qualifier after winning
the 2016/17 FIS Snowboard Halfpipe Crystal Globe. On Australia Day 2017 James
won the prestigious X Games gold medal after defeating legendary American
snowboarder Shaun White. His history making season ended with James being
awarded the Australian Snow sports Athlete of the year, jointly shared with
moguls World Champion Britt Cox.
As Australia’s only male competitor in the inaugural Olympic
Snowboard Slopestyle competition in Sochi, James just missed out on a place in
the final, finishing eighth in the semi-final and 16th overall. In the
halfpipe, he made a shock exit from the competition when he didn’t make it
through the heats. Tough judging in his first run and an unfinished program in
the second brought his Sochi Games to a premature end in 21st place
After taking out the Halfpipe World Championships in 2015, James had the ‘perfect season’ in 2017. The 23-year-old successfully defended his World Championships crown at Sierra Nevada with an untouchable score of 97.50. He entered the championships as the number one qualifier after winning the 2016/17 FIS Snowboard Halfpipe Crystal Globe. On Australia Day 2017 James won the prestigious X Games gold medal after defeating legendary American snowboarder Shaun White. His history making season ended with James being awarded the Australian Snow sports Athlete of the year, jointly shared with moguls World Champion Britt Cox.
