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Ayumu Hirano hits triple cork for third time in halfpipe run, judges reward him with gold medal [VIDEO]

Hirano hit the triple cork in his first run but fell halfway through. He hit it again on his second run but the judges only put him in second place.

By Chinmay Vaidya Updated
Snowboard - Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Day 7
Ayumu Hirano of Team Japan performs a trick during the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Final on day 7 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 11, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

Update: Amazingly, Hirano landed yet another triple cork and once again completed the third and final run with no errors. The judges made up for their previous error, rewarding Hirano with the top score and the first gold medal for Japan in the event.

Japanese snowboarder Ayumu Hirano became the first athlete to hit the triple cork when he landed the trick on the first run of the men’s halfpipe final but was unable to finish the run.

Hirano came back on the second run and hit the triple cork again, finishing the run this time. Take a look.

Somehow, this run was only good enough for second place in the final behind Scotty James. That result dumbfounded NBC’s announcers, who claimed the judges have “grenaded their credibility” with Hirano’s score.

We’ll see if he can put together another massive run in his third attempt to give the judges another opportunity to give him a higher score.

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