Ayumu
Hirano

Ayumu Hirano stunned with silver as a 14-year-old rookie at X Games Aspen 2013, finishing behind Shaun White. That set up a decade-long rivalry that ended with Hirano’s win at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, an event that doubled as White’s retirement from competition. Gold at X Games Oslo 2016 made him Japan’s first X Games winter gold medalist, presaging an era of Japanese snowboard rippers. The first to bring triple cork rotations to halfpipe competition, in and out of X Games, he’s the progression leader in the pipe. He’s also been actively mentoring younger riders including his brother Kaishu Hirano and women’s SuperPipe pipe competitors Ruki and Sena Tomita, a role he takes seriously.