From Australia’s own Scotty James and Valentino Guseli, to the USA’s all-time great Shaun White and Japan’s Ayumu Hirano – the talent in this final will produce results for the ages.

Scotty, a PyeongChang 2018 bronze medallist and four-time Olympian, laid down an amazing run on Wednesday to see him qualify in second place.

Sixteen-year-old Olympic debutant Valentino Guseli was not far behind in fifth position, a strong result for the Aussies leading into today’s final.

While the snowboard halfpipe is a relatively new sport to the Olympics, our snowboarders are meticulous in the development of their competitive plans. Scotty discussed his approach to qualifying and how this will continue into the final.

“The plan [in qualifying] was to really put it together on the first run, build on it, and then work on anything that I felt like needed a little bit more perfection,” Scotty said.

“We were able to do that so I’m super happy."

In the lead up to the final there has been a lot of talk about athletes pulling out the big tricks to increase their difficulty and gain a higher score. Scotty recently talked about the triple cork, and finals being about more than big tricks.

“I wouldn’t say that it is an absolute have to. There is a lot of other competition, there are a lot of other elements in a halfpipe run that need to be absolutely flawless than just doing a triple cork.

“We are definitely prepared for everything that I have to do to finish where I have to finish, and I will focus on being the best rider and the best athlete I can be and have to be to make things happen.”

Valentino loves being in the air and wants to focus more on amplitude leading into finals.

“I just want to go big and put on a show for everyone. It’s going to be a fun time competing at the pinnacle sporting event of all-time,” Valentino said.

“So I’m just going to take it in, enjoy it and have fun. It’s very cool to be here and I’m stoked to be living one of my dreams.

“There’s a possibility that I will do a couple of different tricks but I’m not really sure. [I] will have to talk to my coach, I want to just have a bit more amplitude and just up some of the tricks a little bit and we’ll see where we end up.”

The final promises to be a spectacular event and it takes a steely mindset to fly seven meters above the lip of the pipe. Valentino has built a reputation for going big and he spoke about the feeling of big air and why he loves it so much.

“It feels like flying, just looking down on the halfpipe and as much as it’s very dangerous, it is a very peaceful place up there.

“You have to be very at piece with yourself to be able to go up there because one little mistake can be not very fun, but it feels really good going high.”

Scotty also spoke about the flow state and how your mental state changes once you launch into the pipe.

“It’s the most present probably, speaking for myself, I think I will ever really be.

“I’m just focusing on exactly what I’m doing. There is some self-talk sometimes [for] amping myself up from trick to trick.”

Scotty and Valentino will hit the halfpipe final at 12.30pm AEDT on Channel 7 and 7plus.

It will be a battle amongst the world’s best in a not to be missed final.

Jonathan Sweet

#HaveAGo