Hirano harnesses anger to win Olympic halfpipe gold

Japan's Ayumu Hirano turned anger into Olympic gold, shrugging off a perceived injustice to win the Beijing Games men's snowboard halfpipe title with a dramatic final ride.

The dreadlocked Hirano, a silver medallist at both the 2014 and 2018 Games, said he "didn't understand" how he could be in second place behind Australia's Scotty James after a jaw-dropping second run in Friday's event.

He simply got back on his board and put in an even more spectacular performance on his third and final attempt, claiming the gold on the last run of the competition.

"I didn't understand it -- I was really angry," the normally mild-mannered 23-year-old said of the score for his second run, which saw him become the first rider ever to land the ultra-difficult triple cork move and complete the run.

"But I turned that anger to my advantage in the third run. It helped me concentrate even more than usual."

Hirano finished with 96.00 points, beating James into silver on 92.50 and giving Switzerland's Jan Scherrer the bronze on 87.25.

American snowboard legend Shaun White, who was appearing in his final competition before retiring, finished fourth on 85.00.

The competition was touted as potentially the best halfpipe contest in snowboard history and it soon lived up to its billing.

Hirano landed a triple cork on his first run but fell soon after, allowing James to take the lead on his second run.

Hirano thought he had assumed control after his own second run, but the judges thought otherwise to set up a pressure-drenched finale.

"I knew I had the technique to win, but even so there are still times when you can fail," said Hirano, who also competed in skateboarding at last year's Tokyo Olympics.

"To do what I set out to do on this stage, and at the very end -- I'm very happy with my performance today."