LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — The best snowboard contest in history came down to one trick. Half a spin, really. Scotty James built up speed, launched himself above the coping of the halfpipe and took his Olympic hopes and dreams for a twirl through the clear,

The Olympic Team Event came down to the final skater on Sunday. In front of a packed house inside the Milano Ice Skating arena, the United States narrowly defeated Japan for its second consecutive team gold.

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.

Japan's Yuto Totsuka had a stunning second run to claim men's snowboarding halfpipe gold on Friday at the Milan/Cortina Winter Games. The World Cup leader fell in his third and final run, but that didn't matter because the 95 points from his previous effort secured him his maiden Olympic medal.

Stream every moment and every medal of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games on Peacock. Read more NBC News coverage of the Olympics and the athletes competing. The Canadian men's hockey team defeated Switzerland 5-1 in today's preliminary round face-off.

How to watch Japanese figure skaters including Yuma Kagiyama, Shuna Sato, Kaori Sakamoto and pairs team Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Hirano is the reigning gold medalist in the event. He also took back-to-back silvers in 2014 and 2018. He can't be completely counted out of the medal race either. He won the first halfpipe event on the FIS World Cup circuit this season.