Ayumu Hirano came second and his younger brother Kaishu Hirano third in the X Games men's snowboard halfpipe Friday, an encouraging sign ahead of next month's Beijing Winter Olympics.Ayumu, the 2014 and 2018 Olympic silver medalist and this season's World Cup winner, landed his new trademark, the triple cork 1440, in his last run, a month after he became the first to pull it off in competition.Scotty James of Australia won the event, Ayumu failing to come from behind due to a fall. But the 23-year-old was still pleased, because of the execution of his signature trick."Regarding that one tri…READ FULL ARTICLE
