http://www.denverpost.com/extremes/ci_22706381/japanese-snowboarder-ayumu-hirano-is-poised-next-halfpipe
Japanese snowboarder Ayumu Hirano is poised as next halfpipe champion By Jason Blevins The Denver Post The Denver Post Posted:
DenverPost.com
VAIL — If Ayumu Hirano can respond with a mumble, he will. No one has ever called the pint-sized 14-year-old Japanese snowboarding phenom chatty. "He doesn't talk in his own language either," said Teddy Koo, Hirano's friend, translator and fellow snowboarder on the Monster Energy team. "He lets his actions speak for him. He's more about expressing himself physically than verbally." The eighth-grader's actions in the halfpipe say plenty. At a mere 75 pounds, Japan's rising son of snowboarding has defied the little-guys-can't-fly stereotype by boosting huge air, reaching 18-plus feet above the halfpipe lip. His textbook-perfect pumping on the transitions has made him a prodigy, drawing comparisons to Shaun White, whose snowboarding dominance began at the same age. "I never thought it was going to happen," Hirano said, through Koo, of threatening the undisputed king of snowboarding's decade-long reign. "But now it's happening, and it's pretty fun." Under bluebird skies Saturday, Hirano's unflappable style was on stage at the Burton U.S. Open as he soared with poise, spun with mechanical technique and bullied White's once-untouchable supremacy. Still, it wasn't enough to match White's indomitable double-cork 1260s, and Hirano took silver behind White's gold. "I love watching him ride," White said. "It's a nice reminder about the sport to me ... because he's not the biggest guy out there, and I'm not the biggest. It doesn't really make a difference, the size. It's all your mind-set and how you use the terrain, and he's a great example of that." Hirano's silver at the U.S. Open earned him the halfpipe title of the World Snowboard Tour. Hirano unquestionably is building the new standard for the next generation of snowboarding — throwing three or even four smooth and efficient double-cork spins on every run and floating in seemingly slow motion above the pipe. Hello from Aspen. Hirano's sudden ascent to snowboarding's top tier was sparked at January's Winter X Games in Aspen, where the X rookie's back-to-back double-cork 1080s and authoritative airs led him to silver, again only one step behind White. Last month, Hirano won the European Open. "He stands on his snowboard well and has great edge control, a good line and really good timing on the lip of the halfpipe," said Ben Boyd, the snowboarding coach at Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, which is training a team of five Japanese snowboarders this season, including Hirano and his brother Eiju, 17. The crew is a jovial bunch, laughing and teasing one another while doing loads of snowboarding. They work with Boyd and revered coach Elijah Teter on the club's airbag and trampolines in Vail and ride Breckenridge from their group home in Frisco. Olympic rider Koehi Kudo said training with the Vail club has delivered "only positive things." "You are always having someone watch you while you are riding, and they point out the bad things and point out the good things and take video," Kudo said through a translator. "They just want you to become a better snowboarder." Hirano and his crew are following in the tracks of Kazu Kokobu, the legendary Japanese rider who has adopted Hirano as the young star most capable of toppling the American snowboarding dynasty. Kokobu, who won the U.S. Open in 2010, encouraged Hirano to train in Vail, leaving Japan, which has a dearth of Olympic-caliber halfpipes and terrain parks. Page 1 of 2
03/03/2013 10:10 AM