LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — A generation ago, the sight of an Olympic halfpipe podium drenched in red, white and blue was as common as fresh powder on the mountain — a fitting and expected celebration for a sport born and raised in the United States.

Kokomo Murase completed a golden snowboard Big Air Olympic double for Japan on Monday, after Kira Kimura had won the men's competition on the weekend. X Games champion Murase clinched the gold four years after bronze on her final jump with a score a score of 89.

It’s been an exciting first full day of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Men’s snowboard big air: Japan’s Kira Kimura walked away with a gold medal after wowing judges and getting the highest score on his final run. Ryoma Kimata, also representing Japan, finished with silver.

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — That ever-growing bench of Japanese snowboarders runs deep. Jumps very high, too. The country that has steadily been asserting mastery over the halfpipe took that show to the Winter Olympics big air contest Saturday night,