Livigno, Italy, Feb 8 (V7N) — Kira Kimura delivered a landmark moment for Japanese snowboarding on Saturday by winning the country’s first-ever men’s Olympic gold medal in snowboard big air at the Milan–Cortina Winter Games.

Competing under floodlights at Livigno Snow Park, Kimura produced a standout final run to secure the title with a combined score of 179.5 points. He finished ahead of fellow Japanese rider Ryoma Kimata, while defending Olympic champion Su Yiming of China claimed the bronze.

The final standings were decided by combining each athlete’s two highest scores from three runs. Kimura’s consistency and high-difficulty execution proved decisive in a closely contested final.

Japan and China have long been dominant nations in snowboard big air, but Japan had not previously won an Olympic medal in the discipline since its introduction at the 2018 Winter Games.

In snowboard big air, athletes accelerate down a steep ramp before launching off a large jump, performing complex aerial tricks that are judged on difficulty, execution and landing.

Kimura’s victory marks a significant milestone for Japanese winter sports and underscores the country’s growing strength in freestyle snowboarding.

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