Winter games | Japanese snowboarder has tricks, height for Olympic gold

Japan’s Ayumu Hirano at the Russia 2014 Winter Olympics

His first name, loosely translated into English, means “Walk the Dream.” No wonder, then, that back home in Japan, expectations soar nearly as high as snowboarder Ayumu Hirano’s jumps above the halfpipe.

Hirano stands at only 1.61 meters but his newest tricks are huge. He’s been working on stringing together back-to-back 1440s — a 1440 is the toughest trick in the halfpipe — and if he pulls it off next month at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, he could find himself at the top of the podium — above Shaun White, above Australia’s Scotty James, above defending champion Iouri Podladtchikov (iPod for short) and all the other contenders in snowboarding’s signature event.

Hirano already has a silver medal — earned at the Sochi Games four years ago. Gold would not be too big of a stretch, especially if White were to have another off day, the likes of which he endured when he finished fourth in 2014.

Too much hype? By now, there’s really no such thing for Hirano, who caught White’s eye when he was young.

“He had a tough go of things because he was like 14 or so and they were like, ‘You’re going to be the next big thing,’” said White, who will face Hirano this week at the Winter X Games in an Olympics preview. “It’s hard to be the up-and-coming rider to, all of sudden, they’re comparing you to me. It’s a lot to live up to those expectations. So, he’s kinda made his way and he’s having his breakout. He’s an interesting rider.”

On a picturesque December day, Hirano walked through the village at Copper Mountain, Colorado, without anyone even casting a second glace in his direction. He appreciates this sort of anonymity. Back home, it’s not the same. Ever since he strapped on a snowboard and started going big, he’s drawn attention. Burton snowboards saw his videos on YouTube and handed him an endorsement contract when he was in fourth grade.

And yet, his mission remains simple: Make his country even more aware of what exactly he does. Snowboarding made its Olympic debut at the Nagano Games in Japan, and ever since, the country has been trying to cash in on its potential in the sport. Riders like White have curtailed some of the success, at least at the highest level. But Hirano and Taku Hiraoka finished 2-3 at the last Olympics and another Japanese rider, 16-year- old Yuto Totsuka, has been going big in the lead-up to this year’s games, as well.

Hirano, who is only 19, views himself as not only the present in Japanese snowboarding but someone who can inspire the next generation.

“That’s why I’m aiming for that gold, so more people can see how great snowboarding can be,” Hirano said.

Want to make Hirano grin? Ask him about his first name. He gets that quite a bit.

“I’ve been snowboarding since I was 4, so maybe my parents did have this in mind in hopes that I would walk to my dream,” he said. “They just wanted what was best for me.”

At first, he was a skateboarder, with his father building a skateboard ramp behind a surf shop he owned for Hirano and his older brother, Eiju, to practice. Hirano’s surfing career never really flourished, though, after his brother had an accident while surfing. AP