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Snowboard ace James wins X Games

Melissa WoodsAAP
Australia's Scotty James won X Games halfpipe gold as the Winter Olympics countdown continues.
Camera IconAustralia's Scotty James won X Games halfpipe gold as the Winter Olympics countdown continues. Credit: AP

Olympic snowboard star Scotty James will go into Beijing riding high after storming back from World Cup disappointment to win the halfpipe at the X Games in Aspen, USA.

The 27-year-old Victorian arrived at the prestigious X Games seeking "redemption" after he failed to put down a clean run in the World Cup final in Switzerland last weekend, finishing 11th which was his worst result since 2016.

James, who was Australia's flag-bearer at the 2018 Winter Olympics where he won a bronze medal in the halfpipe, delivered with a podum-topping performance which was his fourth X Games title.

He finished ahead of Japan's Ayumu Hirano, with his younger brother Kaishu Hirano third.

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Making his X Games debut, Australian 16-year-old sensation Valentino Guseli finished in sixth place.

Ayumu Hirano, who has won silver at the past two Olympics, was the only competitor to attempt - and land - a triple cork, which is snowboard's most difficult trick.

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But the 23-year-old couldn't land the next jump and without a full run, missed out on gold.

James executed a switchback double cork 1260 - a near-blind trick that involves two head-over-heels flips after riding backward up the wall, which was enough to impress the judges.

After Amyumu Hirano fell on his final run, James, who was guaranteed top spot, went for straight airs on a victory lap.

"It's hard to put words ... after last week in Laax which was upsetting, I just wanted to bounce back," James said.

"Ayumu is an amazing opponent and the rest of the field and I knew I had to bring my best, so I am absolutely thrilled."

Three-time Olympic champion Shaun White and last year's Winter X champion, Yuto Totsuka, both opted not to compete.

Earlier, Australia's Tess Coady finished in sixth place in the snowboard slopestyle event, which was won by New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott.

Two-time Olympic champion Jamie Anderson of the United States finished second.

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