Ayumu Hirano and Scotty James make it through an epic night of qualifying on the Olympic halfpipe

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Given the injuries he’s overcome in the past month, there’s no blaming defending Olympic champion Ayumu Hirano for just being happy to be here.

The halfpipe riders trying to take his title at the Milan Cortina Games made it clear Wednesday night they don’t share that feeling.

On a night Hirano said he was at “50 percent” at best, some four weeks after breaking his nose and suffering leg injuries at a contest in Switzerland, the Japanese rider gave himself a chance to defend his title, finishing seventh in qualifying.

But this was no normal qualifier.

“All the boys are going for blood,” said New Zealand’s Campbell Melville Ives, who opened his evening by landing a triple cork, which was Hirano’s winning trick in the Olympic final four years ago. “It’s everyone throwing down because it’s the Olympics. You definitely don’t want to play it safe.”

Nobody did. Especially not Scotty James, the Aussie rider who has won everything there is to win except an Olympic gold medal.

He watched the first seven riders land run after run filled with tricks that would have put them on the medal stand four years ago — maybe four months ago.

James knows there’s an advantage in going last in Friday night’s final, which will give him a chance in the three-run final to see what everyone else has done — and landed — before he drops in. That meant trying to finish first in this contest, which he did by scoring a 94 in his first run.

“Doing the switchback 14 in qualifying is not something I would normally do,” James said of his toughest trick, one he linked with another 1,400-degree spin in the other direction — a historic combination — to win the X Games last month.

But the occasion — on a night where history's best snowboarder, Shaun White, was watching at the bottom — called for it.

On his second run, James joined Melville Ives and four other riders on the list of those who tried triple corks. He landed that one but later pulled up after a trick later down the pipe didn't go quite right.

To put it into context, it took about a decade for these riders to perfect the triple cork, which is three head-over-heels flips, usually combined with a full spin. Hirano's ability to land it at the last Olympics was the difference between first and second — between himself and James, who concentrates more on complex spins than flipping, and now, does both.

There were no obvious signs of injury as Hirano walked through the interview area after the qualifier on what many riders said was a perfect halfpipe. Asked if he could win Friday, given what he's been through, Hirano was blunt: “I'm not thinking too much about winning. I just want to do my best and the results will come from that.”

Melville Ives, who finished second to James at the Switzerland meet where Hirano got hurt, said the price of admission to the podium Friday night would start with flying 16 feet over the edge of the pipe on most of the jumps (higher on the less twisted ones).

“It's going to take multiple triple corks and spinning at least five directions,” he said, suggesting all five jumps in a run will have to be completely different.

If this contest was any indication, more than one of the 12 finalists will make that happen.

“I think it's going to be a hell of a battle,” James said.

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

United States' Alessandro Barbieri reacts during the men's snowboarding halfpipe qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Shaun White watches competition during the men's snowboarding halfpipe qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Japan's Ayumu Hirano competes during the men's snowboarding halfpipe qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Australia's Scotty James reacts during the men's snowboarding halfpipe qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Australia's Scotty James competes during the men's snowboarding halfpipe qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright arrived Wednesday in Venezuela for a firsthand assessment of the country's oil industry, a visit that further asserts the U.S. government's self-appointed role in turning around Venezuela’s dilapidated energy sector.

Wright met Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. He is expected to meet with government officials, oil executives and others during a three-day visit to the South American country.

Briefing the press after the meeting with Rodríguez, Wright told reporters Trump is “passionately committed… to transforming Venezuela” and to bring “commerce, peace, prosperity, jobs, opportunity to the people of Venezuela.” He did not take questions from the journalists.

Wright’s visit comes as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump continues to lift sanctions to allow foreign companies to operate in Venezuela and help rebuild the nation’s most important industry. It follows last month’s enactment of a Venezuelan law that opened the nation’s oil sector to private investment, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.

Rodríguez was sworn into her new role after the brazen Jan. 3 seizure of then-President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military attack in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. She proposed the overhaul of the country’s energy law after Trump said his administration would take control of Venezuela’s oil exports and revitalize the ailing industry by luring foreign investment.

Rodríguez’s government expects the changes to serve as assurances for major U.S. oil companies that have so far hesitated about returning to the volatile country. Some of those companies lost investments when the ruling party enacted the existing law two decades ago to favor Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA.

The new law now grants private companies control over oil production and sales, ending PDVSA's monopoly over those activities as well as pricing. It also allows for independent arbitration of disputes, removing a mandate for disagreements to be settled only in Venezuelan courts, which are controlled by the ruling party.

Foreign investors view the involvement of independent arbitrators as crucial to guard against future expropriation.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez, right, meets with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, left, at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez greets U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez greets U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

FILE - Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles listens during a meeting with President Donald Trump and oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)