Three Americans in Men's Snowboard Halfpipe Final; Pates Leads the Way in Eighth
The men's snowboard halfpipe final went down Friday night, featuring some of the highest-level riding ever seen in an Olympic contest. Team USA sent three men to the finals, with Jake Pates leading the way in eighth place. Alessandro Barbieri was 10th and Chase Josey 11th.
It was a crisp, cold night in Livigno, Italy, with thousands of fans crowding the bottom of the pipe, including hundreds of family members, friends, teammates and athletes from other sports. Heading into the evening, the sentiment around the venue was that this event would feature the highest level of riding the Olympics has ever seen - the athletes felt it, the crowd felt it and the world was ready.
American Jake Pates was the first to drop in the 12 man final and set the tone off early, lacing together an impressive run that included a massive cab triple cork to earn a 77.50. His score held strong throughout the contest and ultimately secured eighth place, matching Pates’ previous Olympic result back in 2018.
Teammate and three-time Olympian Chase Josey was next to drop but couldn’t put together a full pull on his first attempt. Josey’s veteran composure came into play as he stomped his second run clean in front of friends and family cheering him on in the finish. The judges awarded the 'king of switch' a 70.25, good enough for 11th place.
Coming into the final sitting in fourth place, Olympic rookie Alessandro Barbieri stared down the pipe hoping to put on a show for his crew of Italian relatives in attendance. The 17 year old, who became the first American to land a triple in halfpipe competition just last month in Aspen, launched into his second attempt determined to put it down clean after falling on his first run. Despite a full pull, the judges awarded Barbieri with a 75.00 that earned “The Italian Stallion” 10th place in his Olympic debut.
In arguably the most progressive halfpipe final the snowboarding world has ever seen, Japan’s Yuto Totsuka bested Australia’s Scotty James for the top spot on the podium. James took home the silver and Japan’s Ryusei Yamada the bronze.
