Winter Olympics: Ayumu Hirano wins halfpipe gold as Shaun White ends illustrious career

Japan's Ayumu Hirano finally won Olympic halfpipe gold as Shaun White's glittering snowboarding career came to an end without a medal in Beijing.

Third time proved the charm for 23-year-old Hirano, who won silver at the past two Games, as a 96.00 score on his final run landed him top spot.

Australia's Scotty James won silver with 92.50 while Switzerland's Jan Scherrer's 87.25 earned him bronze.

Three-time champion White, 35, was fourth at his fifth and final Olympics.

In a final that went down to the wire, Hirano made history on his first run by landing the hallowed triple cork — a 1,440 degree spin on the horizontal axis whilst corkscrewing the rotation, meaning the head dips under the board three times.

But the remainder of his run was unclean, as was James', leaving them ninth and 10th respectively after the opener.

Hirano again landed the triple cork on a clean second run, but the judges ruled James' efforts higher, putting the 27-year-old — bronze medallist in Pyeongchang — top of the standings heading into the finale.

But James — wearing his trademark red 'boxing' mitts — slipped up on his third run, leaving the door wide open for Hirano to snatch the gold.

More to follow.