Snowboard-Australian James keeps plans under wraps as he chases first gold

LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 7 : Australia snowboarder Scotty James is keeping details of his halfpipe plans to himself at the Milano Cortina Games as he chases the gold medal that has eluded him in four Olympics.

Asked what tricks he hoped to show off in the Italian Alps, James said on Saturday he had learned from prior experience that, for the Olympics, "my lips should never be looser than a lizard's sleeve.

"I anticipate a strong event and will stick to the game plan," he told reporters in the Italian mountain town of Livigno. "I'll leave something to be surprised by."

Australia's flag-bearer at Pyeongchang 2018, he took bronze at the Games in South Korea, silver in Beijing four years ago and is aiming to go one better at his fifth Olympics.

Gold would make James Australia's most decorated Winter Olympian, eclipsing freestyle skier Dale Begg-Smith and women's snowboarder Torah Bright, who have each won a gold and silver.

The halfpipe competition starts in Livigno on Wednesday. Competitors to James include reigning gold medallist Ayumu Hirano of Japan and Australian teammate Valentino Guseli.

In general, James said his strategy was to "minimise the exterior pressure and focus on the job, which is for me to do my best."

At 31, James is one of the older competitors in snowboarding. But he said Milano Cortina "is not my last go around.

"I don't think that an Olympic gold medal is unattainable," he added. "I look after myself. I take care of myself mentally, physically."

James has also been the subject of a Netflix documentary called "Scotty James: Pipe Dream" released in December.

He said he did the documentary in part to explain the personalities of people who pursue action sports and push themselves to the limit.

"Action sports athletes