Japan’s Snowboard Star Hirano Ayumu Battles Injury to Go for Halfpipe Gold in Milano Cortina

Hirano Ayumu (center) after winning the opening round in the Men’s Halfpipe competition at the FIS Snowboard World Cup round held in Zhangjiakou, China, in December 2025. Totsuka Yūto (left) and Hirano Ruka (right) placed second and third, respectively. (© Kyōdō)

At the snowboarding World Championships in St. Moritz in March 2025, Japan’s Women’s Big Air team monopolized the winner’s podium with (from left) Iwabuchi Reira in second place, Murase Kokomo in first, and Fukada Mari in third. (© AFP/Jiji)