Hirano Ayumu of Japan reacts during flower ceremony after men's snowboard halfpipe final of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)
BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- After his Olympic skateboarding debut on home soil in Tokyo 2020, Hirano Ayumu continued to challenge himself. "I'm going to switch to snowboarding soon," he said. "There is not a single day to waste."
Hirano, a two-time Olympic snowboarding silver medalist who grew up riding his father's own skatepark ramps, announced in November 2018 that he would try to qualify and compete at Tokyo 2020 in skateboarding. He won the Japanese national skateboarding championships in May 2019.
Born in 1998, Hirano won a silver medal at Sochi 2014, becoming the Games' youngest ever snowboarding medalist.
Hirano claimed the men's snowboard halfpipe title by notching a high score of 96.00 points at Beijing 2022.
Hirano Ayumu of Japan competes during the men's snowboard halfpipe final at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)
Hirano Ayumu of Japan competes during the men's snowboard halfpipe final at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)
Hirano Ayumu of Japan competes during the men's snowboard halfpipe final at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)
Hirano Ayumu of Japan competes during the men's snowboard halfpipe final at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)
Hirano Ayumu of Japan competes during the men's snowboard halfpipe final at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)
