Milano Cortina 2026: Yuto Totsuka Overcomes Past Disappointments to Win Gold; Support From Snowboarding Community Helped Sustain Him

By Azusa Nakazono / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

15:58 JST, February 15, 2026

After bitter disappointments at the two previous Winter Games, Yuto Totsuka finally won Olympic gold in the men’s snowboard halfpipe at the Milano Cortina Winter Games with an overwhelming performance that drew roars of approval from the spectators.

Snowboarders are ranked by their best score among three runs in the halfpipe finals, and Totsuka was in second place before his second run. He held the necklace that he always wears near his mouth to pray, “Please protect me” as he set off.

Totsuka, 24, perfectly executed all five of his tricks in that run, including two consecutive triple cork 1440s, a highly regarded trick that entails making four full rotations while simultaneously inverting three times. He pumped his fist in triumph as he ended the run.

The 95.00 points Totsuka earned in the second run moved him to No. 1 and no one was able to top him, bringing Totsuka his first Olympic gold.

Totsuka started snowboarding around the age of 3 — he doesn’t remember exactly when. He began training seriously in the halfpipe as a third grader in primary school.

With his excellent coordination, Totsuka was able to quickly master air tricks taught by his coach and improved his skills. He especially liked the halfpipe because he enjoyed being able to control the height of the tricks.

Ruka Hirano, who finished fourth in the same event at this year’s Games, trained with Totsuka when they were in elementary school. “Yuto [Totsuka] was really good even then,” Hirano recalled.

When Hirano was practicing how to jump into the air from the halfpipe wall, Totsuka was already working on rotating tricks.

After winning an event in which adults also participated, Totsuka qualified as a pro snowboarder at age 11. He won a World Cup in 2017 in his first appearance on the World Cup circuit, and his career appeared to be off to a great start.

However, Totsuka faced bitter disappointment at the previous two Winter Games. In Pyeongchang in 2018, he had a terrible crash at an end of a trick on his second run in the finals and was unable to move. Eventually he was taken out of the venue on the stretcher.

At the 2022 Beijing Games, his performance was marred by mistakes and he couldn’t execute the tricks he had planned. Totsuka ended up in 10th place.

Totsuka had entered the Beijing Olympics with great expectations, so his disappointment was huge as well.

Since the Beijing Games, bad memories had recurred when he saw halfpipes at the starting point of events. He began to think, “I’ll fail again.”

The angle of the Beijing halfpipe was not his favorite and he kept making mistakes at similar venues. Totsuka almost decided to quit snowboarding, as he had come to resent the sport he had once enjoyed.

Fellow snowboarders and coaches gave him moral support during this time, telling him, “You can do it, Yuto.” Hirano used to tell Totsuka for encouragement.

His coach Ryo Aoki even built a halfpipe with the same angle walls as the Beijing Games halfpipe, in an attempt to get rid of his reluctance. Totsuka kept practicing, watching videos of other snowboarders.

Totsuka won a World Cup in February 2024 for the first time in three years, making him feel like he could still compete. At that moment, confidence — thought it was small — came back to him.

Totsuka was averse to the Olympics, unable to suppress his tension. “I’m here today because of the help from various people, such as Ruka and my coaches,” Totsuka said. “With support from many people, I was able to bring everything together.”

The tough eight years since Pyeongchang have finally paid off. “It’s shining. It’s heavy. It means more than its weight,” Totsuka said as he looked at his medal.