The Japanese Olympic Team
Men’s Slopestyle:
Yuki Kadono
Men’s Halfpipe:
Taku Hiraoka
Ryo Aono
Ayumu Hirano
Ayumu Nedefuji
Women’s Halfpipe:
Rana Okada
Keep your eyes on…
Japan’s young halfpipe prodigy Ayumu Hirano blew the snowboarding world away last season, laying out runs in the pipe with such ferocity and amplitude that he was quickly picked as the rider to beat Shaun White. After injuries kept him out of the 2014 X Games in Aspen, Hirano is stepping into Sochi with nothing to lose. Will he be the one to topple White’s Olympic kingdom? Don’t take your eyes off this kid, he’ll be going huge.