Japan claims gold, silver in men's snowboard big air; US' Ollie Martin 4th

LIVIGNO, Italy -- Japanese snowboarders Kira Kimura and Ryoma Kimata won the gold and silver medals in the men's Big Air snowboarding event at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday, dethroning champion Su Yiming of China with their soaring jumps in the Italian Alps.

Su ended the cold night in the mountain town of Livigno with the bronze as he could not overcome the powerhouses from Japan.

Ollie Martin, a 17-year-old who was the lone American that qualified for the final, finished fourth, one spot away from winning the first U.S. medal of these Games.

Kimura fell on the landing of his second of three runs but impressed the judges with a difficult switch backside 1900 in his final bid to secure his first Olympic gold.

The 21-year-old smiled broadly and clapped his hands on the podium at the medal ceremony.

He scored a total of 179.50, ahead of 171.50 for Kimata, to top the podium at the Livigno Snow Park after posting 90.50 in his third and final run.

After Su's daring technical spin on his first run, the 21-year-old Chinese competitor fell on his hands in the second round, which hurt his chances of retaining the title.

Competitors were ranked by a combined score of their two best jumps. Su's total was 168.50.

The Big Air event features riders launching off a jump and performing an aerial trick involving flips, spins and twists. The medal contest was held at night under floodlights.

--Reuters, special to Field Level Media