Japan extends its snowboard power to big air with a 1-2 Olympic finish

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — That ever-growing bench of Japanese snowboarders runs deep. Jumps very high, too.

The country that has steadily been asserting mastery over the halfpipe took that show to the Winter Olympics big air contest Saturday night, where Kira Kimura and Ryoma Kimata flew and stomped their way to a 1-2 finish to put their country on the top of the sport's highest flying event.

“It's not only the winter season, it's the summer season, as well,” Kimura said in explaining Japan's 365-day-a-year obsession with this sport. “We practice on the air bags. Our coaches are really good. We had a really good offseason, lots of preparation.”

No single country has benefitted the way Japan has from the relatively new phenomenon of being able to practice using air bags to cushion falls during practice. It opens up new possibilities, both in the difficulty of the tricks riders can perfect and the time they can spend doing it.

For Japan, this had been showing up on the halfpipe — the sport's signature event — for at least 12 years now. When Ayumu Hirano won the Olympic title four years ago, it marked has third Olympic medal. Even though he comes into these Games injured, a big crew from his country is ready to fill the void.

But in a different sign of how deep, and wide, this Japanese team rolls, they placed all four of their riders into the 12-man final of big air, an event that was added to the Olympic program in 2018. The rider who led qualifying, Hiroto Ogiwara, finished last. The other one, Taiga Hasegawa, finished 11th.

Why is their country so good at this?

“We hate to lose,” said Ogiwara, who has won the last two X Games big air contests.

It was not a night of groundbreaking tricks on a hill that has not been generating breakneck speed this week. NBC's Todd Richards, a 1998 halfpipe Olympian, got caught telling the truth on a hot mic after the event was over: “That was so boring,” he said.

But Japan can do boring, too. In a contest where the judges rewarded consistency, Japan was there to scoop up the medals. Kimura, whose best previous results were three second-place finishes in World Cup events, won with a score of 179.50, the total of his two best runs out of three.

After falling on his second try, he landed an all-or-nothing jump — riding backward, then spinning 5 1/2 times with a solid grab of his board between the bindings — to take the lead.

His teammate, Kimata — who won the world championship in this event last year — had a chance to beat him, but instead finished eight points behind.

“I’m not surprised at all,” American snowboard director Rick Bower said. “They have like 20 air bags in Japan, and they’re just pumping out amazing riders and it’s showing.”

Defending champion Su Yiming of China finished third to round out his collection of Olympic medals.

His silver came on home turf four years ago in slopestyle. Su's hands touched the ground on his second jump, but that jump had an extra 90 degrees of rotation and a tougher grab than 17-year-old Ollie Martin, so he vaulted past the American for the bronze.

“As a defending champion coming back here and having so much pressure, I'm proud of myself to come back and perform,” Su said.

A proud day for Japan, too. Before this, the country had accumulated a single bronze medal in big air, saving most of the celebrations for Hirano and Co. on the halfpipe.

Now, it's starting to feel like the entire snow park is theirs.

“They have a ton of heart. They put their heads down and perfect things to the most minute detail,” New Zealand’s Lyon Farrell said after finishing eighth.

Ogiwara said he was proud of his teammates, a little disappointed in himself, but optimistic about the future.

The very near future.

“I'm going to win the slopestyle,” he said.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Japan's Kira Kimura reacts during the men's snowboarding big air finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Gold medalist Japan's Kira Kimura celebrates with his medal after the men's snowboarding big air finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

From left, silver medalist Japan's Ryoma Kimata, gold medalist Japan's Kira Kimura and bronze medalist China's Su Yiming celebrate after the men's snowboarding big air finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Japan's Kira Kimura, left, celebrates with China's Su Yiming during the men's snowboarding big air finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Japan's Kira Kimura celebrates winning the men's snowboarding big air finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

From left, silver medalist Japan's Ryoma Kimata, gold medalist Japan's Kira Kimura and bronze medalist China's Su Yiming stand after the men's snowboarding big air finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Japan's Kira Kimura reacts during the men's snowboarding big air finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Japan's Kira Kimura reacts during the men's snowboarding big air finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves had plenty of lulls during the regular season, seemingly coasting at times while struggling to recapture the form that fueled them to consecutive Western Conference finals appearances over the last two years.

The postseason switch sure got flipped against the rival Denver Nuggets, as the players promised all along. The energy and urgency was never greater than in the series-clinching Game 6 victory on Thursday, when the determined Timberwolves shook off the absence of their three best guards and beat the Nuggets 110-98.

“Still part of our growth,” coach Chris Finch said. “We’ve been really good with the high moments. Our consistency sometimes throughout the season isn’t always there, which we don’t really like about ourselves, but we know we have it in ourselves to meet these moments.”

Jaden McDaniels clearly does.

Nobody on the Timberwolves embodies the mercurial nature of this close-knit but often-moody team than McDaniels, the sixth-year forward who made a name for himself in this series.

Tirelessly chasing All-Star guard Jamal Murray around screens and everywhere he tried to go along the perimeter, limiting him to 4-for-17 shooting in Game 6, McDaniels did even more on the offensive end.

With a big chunk of the team's shot creation missing due to injuries to Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu, McDaniels went 13 for 25 from the floor for 32 points with 10 rebounds.

“What I was the most proud about him was just his emotional control, being able to stay poised, not overreact to adversity, calls or missed shots, or mistakes,” teammate Rudy Gobert said. "He stayed present, and he stepped up big time when we needed him the most, so I’m really, really proud of him.”

McDaniels tossed even more spice into this well-developed rivalry early in the series with his blanket “ bad defenders ” jab at the opponent, and he made no secret of the motivation he gets from seeing “Denver” or “Nuggets” sewed on the other team's jersey.

“The only thing I said to him, after he had made his comments, was, ‘Now it’s time to back it up,’” Finch said. “And talking doesn’t matter. You've got to go do it. I knew he was going to put the effort in, so he was ready for it, and he owned it, and he responded.”

McDaniels later irked Nuggets star Nikola Jokic by taking an uncontested layup in the closing seconds of Minnesota's blowout win in Game 4, sparking a brief shoving match.

McDaniels had his worst game of the series in the loss in Game 5 on Monday, when he was booed often by the Denver crowd, but he responded on his home court with one of the best games of his career.

With the Timberwolves trying to put away the game, McDaniels delivered the dagger shot — swishing his signature mid-range pull-up to give them a seven-point lead with 1:06 to play. Then he intercepted a harried pass by Jokic to get the ball back and start a parade to the line.

Jokic gave McDaniels a hug after the final horn, a sign of respect from the three-time NBA MVP despite the irritation he caused all series long.

“I’m just happy it’s over, happy we were able to come out on top,” McDaniels said. “Stuff was said. I’m just happy we were all able to prove our point, get the win and move on to the next round.”

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs have been waiting. They'll host Game 1 on Monday.

“I figured the real winner of this series was going to be San Antonio, because both these teams were going to take a lot of pieces out of each other, and did,” Finch said. “So I’m not sure what we have left standing there before we go down there.”

Even if they're short-handed and overmatched, the Timberwolves are a good bet to put up a strong fight.

“You have to believe that you can win, no matter what,” Gobert said. "Obviously we’re missing some pretty important players, right? But no matter who’s out there, we believe in our defense. We believe in trusting one another. Anything’s possible.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) celebrates a basket against the Denver Nuggets during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez celebrates during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Denver Nuggets, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark (22) get into an altercation during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo, left, looks on during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Denver Nuggets, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (1) celebrates his three-point basket against the Denver Nuggets during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)