Ayumu Hirano Favored To Win His First Olympic Gold Medal

• Ayumu Hirano of Japan sees +240 odds to win the Men’s Halfpipe snowboarding event.
• Shaun White of the USA sees +300 odds to win his fourth gold. White won in 2018.
• Hirano won gold a the Aspen Winter X Games in 2018.

BEIJING – The Winter Olympic qualification runs for Men’s Snowboarding Halfpipe will be kicking off Tuesday at 11:30 p.m. and Japanese snowboarder Ayumu Hirano is favored to win the gold medal.

Ayumu placed silver during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and claimed the gold medal at the 2018 Winter X Games in Aspen.

Ayumu Looks For First Olympic Gold Medal

Standing in Hirano’s way is three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White who won the gold medal during the 2018 Winter Olympics. This is White’s last Olympics as he has announced he will retire after these games.

Hirano only has slightly shorter odds than White at legal sports betting sites despite having been the stronger competitor in recent years.

Hirano ranked first in the Ten Best World Cup Performances at both Mammoth Mountain and LAAX during the 2021/2022 season.

Hirano is also ranked first in the world for the overall World Cup Rankings heading into the Olympics.

Meanwhile, White claimed bronze at the 2022 FIS World Cup Standings Halfpipe and fourth in 2021. White has not claimed a gold medal in any competition since 2018.

Despite this, it seems sportsbooks are leaning heavily on White’s past Olympic performances despite giving just a slight edge to Hirano.

Another Notable Competitor

Scotty James of Australia also has (+300) odds to win the gold medal. James won the bronze in 2018 at the Winter Olympics and has three World Championship gold medals alongside four Winter X Games gold medals.

James also recently placed first in the 2020 LAAX Men’s Halfpipe and claimed the gold medal in the X Games Men’s SuperPipe in 2019.

James is sure to be another major competitor for Olympic betting fans to keep an eye on to surpass both White and Hirano in Beijing.

News tags: Ayumu Hirano | Beijing | Olympics | Scotty James | Shaun White | Snowboarding | Winter Olympics | Yuto Totsuka