16-year-old Valentino Guseli who hails from Dalmeny on the South Coast has finished 6th in the snowboard half-pipe final today at the Bejing Winter Olympics.
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The young Guseli had three fantastic runs with a high score of 79.75 and was the only competitor of the day who successfully completed all of his runs without a hiccup.
With his first Olympics under his belt now the future is nothing but bright for the young snowboarding sensation.
Japan's, Ayumu Hirano secured gold with an amazing final score of 96.00 and Australian Scotty James scored the silver medal with a best score of 92.50.
FINAL STANDINGS:
- Ayumu Hirano (Japan) - Best Score: 96.00
- Scotty James (Australia) - Best Score: 92.50
- Jan Scherrer (Switzerland) - Best Score: 87.25
- Shaun White (USA) - Best Score: 85.00
- Taylor Gold (USA) - Best Score: 81.75
- Valentino Guseli (Australia) - Best Score: 79.75
- Chase Josey (USA) - Best Score: 79.50
- Andre Hoeflich (Germany) - Best Score: 76.00
- Kaishu Hirano (Japan) - Best Score: 75.50
- Yuto Totsuka (Japan) - Best Score: 69.75
- Patrick Burgener (Switzerland) - Best Score: 69.50
- Ruka Hirano (Japan) - Best Score: 13.00
LIVE UPDATE:
1:58 - Valentino said he was "beyond happy" to put all his runs down being the only athlete on the day to do so. An emerging young star who will only continue to make both the South Coast and Australia proud.
1:57 - Both Scotty James and Valentino Guseli flew the green & gold with amazing pride showcasing the amazing skills that they are known for. This is only the beginning for Valentino Guseli.
1:55 - Ayumu with score of 96.00 secures him the Gold Medal for the event with Scotty James securing the Silver Medel and making everyone in Australia so so proud. Jan Scherrer takes home the Bronze for Switzerland.
1:53 - Ayumu with a flawless run! What will the scores say? Can Scotty hold on?
1:52 - Can Ayumu Hirano (JPN) take home gold? He is prime position with the final run of the day.
1:50 - Scotty James (AUS) looking to take home gold for Australia. He runs out of momentumn on his final run but he still currently holds onto 1st place. Score of 47.75.
1:48 - Ruka yet again fails to qualify a run with another fall, it's been a rough day for the talented athlete. Walking away with a 9.35 and a last place finish.
1:48 - Ruka Hirano (JPN) currently in last place looks to nail his final run.
1:47 - Shuan with a disappointing final run with a 14.75 but that takes nothing away from the man who pioneered the mainstream success of the sport. Walking away with 4th place at 35 years old.
1:46 - Shaun White (USA) enters the pipe for the final run of his career. A name that will go down in history.
1:45 - Valentino scores a 79.95 which won't be enough to put him into medal territory but it was an amazing showing from the South Coast youngster.
1:44 - Valentino is amazing! Pulling off an insane trick to finish, this will surely result in a huge score.
1:43 - Valentino Guseli (AUS) enters the pipe looking to show out.
1:42 - Yuto isn't able to capatalise on his final push only scoring a 26.50.
1:41 - Yuto Totsuka (JPN) needs to increase his air time on the final run to have a chance.
1:40 - Taylor off a fantastic beginning unfortunately stacks one of his final tricks putting an end to the youngsters medal hunt. A 20.00 final score and current 5th position.
1:38 - Taylor Gold (USA) currently 5th enters looking to grab a medal for his final run.
1:37 - Jan Scherrer (SUI) enters the final run in 3rd place but loses his run after the first jump. A disappointing finish for the Swiss athlete. Only scoring a 7.50 but can he hold onto his 3rd position?
1:34 - Kaishu Hirano (JPN) enters the arena with huge air but he lost momentum after the initial hit. A score of 15.75 is the end result for a finish of 9th place.
1:32 - Andre Hoeflich (GER) is looking for a huge run to push his rank up the board. He went huge with his jumps but only scored a 50.00 securing 8th position for now.
1:29 - Pat Burgener (SUI) enters the pipe, with a way better run compared to his previous two. Picking up a 69.50 and a overall 11th rank.
1:28 - Chase moves to 7th scoring a 79.50.
1:27 - Chase Josey (USA) with a great final run as he sits in 10th.
1:26 - Valentino Guseli currently sits in 6th heading into the last run.
1:25 - Current Top 5 - James (AUS) Hirano (JPN) SCHERRER (SUI) WHITE (USA) GOLD (USA) - We are heading into the final run.
1:24 - Ayumu with a technically sound run scoring a huge 91.75 putting him right behind Scotty James in 2nd place.
1:23 - Ayumu Hirano (JPN) looks to take charge with his next run and push himself into the lead.
1:21 - Scotty looking like the brilliant snowboarder he is with a massive line, an unbelievable run. A massive score of 92.50 puts him in 1st place. Valentino moves to 5th.
1:20 - Scotty James (AUS) enters the pipe for redemption.
1:19 - Ruka Hirano takes a massive spill in his second run as he can't convert a line. Scoring only a 11.75 putting him in last place.
1:18 - White scores a massive 85.00 moving into 2nd position and bumping Valentino to 4th.
1:17 - Shaun White (USA) looking to improve on his first run for his final campaign.
1:16 - Valentino moves to 3rd place with a score of 79.75, the youngster is in position.
1:15 - Valentino is getting huge air on his second run, looks promising for a good score.
1:13 - Valentino Guseli still remains in 4th as he enters for his second run.
1:12 - Yuto Totsuka (JPN) pulling off a nice line of tricks but still remains in 7th position.
1:11 - Taylor Gold (USA) only pulls off a 25.00 in his second run, he still remains in 2nd place.
1:10 - Taylor Gold (USA) enters the pipe to try and secure first place again.
1:08 - Scherrer pulls of a brand new trick that the commentators can't even name. This puts him in 1st place after scoring a huge 87.25. Bumping Taylor Gold (USA) to 2nd.
1:07 - Jan Scherrer (SUI) looking to continue his solid performance.
1:06 - What would have scored Hirano a huge score ends up only being a 37.75. He still sets in 4th.
1:05 - Kaishu Hirano (JPN) getting massive air and putting on a show, but falls at the end.
1:02 - Andre Hoeflich (GER) has a much better 2nd run after 13.25 in the 1st scoring a massive 76.00 putting him in 2nd place. Knocking Valentino to 3rd.
1:00 - Patrick Burgener (SUI) manages only a 5.75 after a big fall.
12:59 - Chase Josey has a disappointing 2nd run only scoring a 23.00.
12:58 - Valentino currently still resides in 2nd right behind Taylor Gold (USA)
12:55 - Hirano also takes a fall near the end of his brilliant run, but he still manages to score a 33.79 pushing his position to 9 and putting Scotty James in at 10th
12:53 - Japan's Ayumu Hirano enters the pipe as the favourite.
12:51 - Australia's Scotty James falls on his first run, only managing to pull out a 16.50 putting him currently in 9th place.
12:50 - Japan's Ruka Hirano disappoints with a first run of 13 unable to capatalise on his first run putting him in last place.
12:49 - Snowboarding legend scores a 72:00 in his first run of his final campaign. White sits in 4th position.
12:48 - Valentino Guseli kicks off his first run with a 75.75 putting him currently in second place behind Taylor Gold (USA)
12:30 - First Heat starts.
Half-pipe finalists
Here's who's show in the Beijing Olympics half-pipe finals
Here are the 12 qualifiers for the men's halfpipe final and their best score of two runs, in the final they'll have three.
- Hirano Ayumu (JPN) 93.25
- Scotty James (AUS) 91.25
- Hirano Ruka (JPN) 87.00
- Shaun White (USA) 86.25
- Valentino Guseli (AUS) 85.75
- Totsuka Yuto (JPN) 84.50
- Taylor Gold (USA) 83.50
- Jan Scherrer (SUI) 79.25
- Hirano Kaishu (JPN) 77.25
- Andre Hoeflich (GER) 75.00
- Patrick Burgener (SUI) 73.00
- Chase Josey (USA) 69.50
Earlier: Dalmeny's own Valentino Guseli set to soar in Olympic final of snowboard half-pipe
Australian teen sensation and Dalmeny local Valentino Guseli will compete for a medal today (Friday) in the Olympic final of the snowboard half-pipe event.
The 16-year-old secured fifth place in the two qualifying runs earlier this week.
He rebounded from a disappointing first run to score an 85.75 in his second which secured him his place in the final.
Guseli will be up against a star studded lineup with fellow Australian Scotty James and Japan's Ayumu Hirano positioned to be the favourites in today's final.
Guseli also only finished half a point behind snowboarding legend and three-time gold medalist Shaun White who will drop into the final runs of his career today becoming the oldest half-pipe competitor ever at 35-years of age.
The final will see each of the competitors compete for the highest score across their three runs, with the highest total securing the gold medal.
At just 16-years-old can Guseli secure a medel?
SouthCoastRegister will provide live updates of the event starting from 12:30pm today.