LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — That ever-growing bench of Japanese snowboarders runs deep. Jumps very high, too. The country that has steadily been asserting mastery over the halfpipe took that show to the Winter Olympics big air contest Saturday night,

Malinin, the two-time World champion and overwhelming favorite to retain for the U.S. the Olympic men’s gold medal Nathan Chen won four years ago in Beijing, finished second to Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama.

Competing in the snowboard big air final, Team USA's Ollie Martin stomped a backside 1980 on his second run in Cortina. The Vail native redeemed himself on his second run with a respectable score of 79.50. He’ll need to go even bigger in his third and final run to knock off the competition.

Team USA made an immediate impact on the first full day of competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, headlined by another one-sided performance from the women's hockey team and a five-point lead in figure skating's team event that sets up a pivotal Sunday.