There’s a new trick up Scotty’s sleeve. It could win him a gold medal

Livigno: Like all good magicians, Scotty James doesn’t reveal his secrets.

But the Australian superstar appears to be keeping one from us all – concealed up his sleeve, ready to pull out on the grandest stage of them all to end his long pursuit of Olympic glory.

There is one item left on James’ snowboarding bucket list – a gold medal – and he is poised to finally cross it out after sealing his spot in the men’s halfpipe final on Saturday (5.30am AEDT) in spectacular style.

“I’m going to try and pull off the best run of my life,” James said. “And I think that’s what it’s going to take to win.”

Widely considered the world’s best active rider, James produced a scintillating first run at the Livigno Snow Park, notching a high score of 94.00 in a standard-setting performance that showed precisely why he is considered the hot favourite to top the podium, finishing 2.75 points clear of his nearest competitor.

James produced five consecutive double corks – when a rider goes off-axis twice in the same move – as part of his smooth five-trick routine, including a switch backside 1440 Japan, involving four full rotations.

He didn’t even need to roll out the trick he debuted when he won a record fifth straight X Games crown last month: the switch backside 1440 into a backside 1440, a combination no other snowboarder in history has pulled off in competition.

That’s probably coming in the final, but something else surely is, too; a hidden red button he is planning to push to annihilate his competition and deliver Australia’s first gold of Milano Cortina 2026, having learned from previous mistakes.

When he landed in Livigno, the 31-year-old hinted in his arrival press conference that he was preparing to unveil some new moves, and was coy after the qualifiers when asked if there was something that he’d been working on.

“The lips are pretty locked,” he said.

“But yeah, look ... this is my fifth Games. I’m pretty vintage at this point from an experience perspective, and I’ve watched my peers before me and how they strategise. And I’ve strategised. So we’ll see how we go on Friday.

“But of course, it’s the finals. You’ve got to bring something special. And that’s what I plan to do.”

James was pipped for gold at the Beijing 2022 Games when his Japanese rival Ayumu Hirano snatched the lead with his final drop-in, and it is clear the 31-year-old has heeded that difficult lesson.

“I think he’s going to be cooking up stuff that no one’s seen before. But it won’t be new for him,” said fellow Aussie rider Valentino Guseli, who also reached the medal showdown with 86.75, the sixth-best score of the night.

Riders had two attempts on the halfpipe to impress the judges, but only their best score counted; James stumbled in his second effort but had earned the wiggle room, while Guseli’s second was only marginally short of his first, and included the first cab triple cork 1440 mute he has pulled off in competition in some time.

In the mixed zone, the 20-year-old received props from the legendary American snowboarder Shaun White. “If you get a compliment regarding amplitude from Shaun White, then you’re doing something right, I guess,” Guseli said.

Guseli’s performance suggested he is also a serious medal threat, but the overall standard of qualifiers was frightfully high, and any one of about six or so competitors – including Hirano, one of seven who finished with a score above 85.00, and three other Japanese – could feasibly challenge for the crown.

“Finals is just going to be insane. It’s going to be the biggest show ever,” Guseli said.

“There’s maybe two more tricks that I’d like to put into my run if all goes well, and I think if I can do them it’ll leave me in a position that I want to be.

“For the first time in quite a long time in halfpipe, it almost could be anyone’s day – but Scotty’s got some stuff that’s pretty insane and pretty hard to beat. I know if I do my best stuff, then I could potentially be up there, but yeah ... I’ll have to do some pretty good riding.”

James and Guseli also shared a moment together after competition, and both said they felt like the support behind them – from both Australians in Livigno, and watching from afar – was the warmest they’d ever felt.

“We were just talking about going H.A.M in finals and getting our country up there,” Guseli said. “Hopefully next year there’s a lot more people snowboarding in the mountains in Australia. That would be amazing.”

The Winter Olympic Games will be broadcast on the 9Network, 9Now and Stan Sport.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.