Ladies and gentlemen, meet your 2012/2013 World Snowboard Tour Halfpipe Champion, Ayumu Hirano. He now is 15.
Ayumu was introduced to extreme sports through his father, Hidenori, who owns a surf shop and a skate park in their hometown Murakami, a small city on the coast of Japan. It all started with surfing, but when Ayumu was 4, he discovered snowboarding. He started competing in 2004, and is first big international success came in March 2011 as he won the Burton US Junior Open, quickly followed by first top 5 result in a men’s comp at the 5Star Burton NZ Open.
His big breakthrough, however, came in the 2012/2013 season. First, the Japanese shooting star— under the wings of his compatriot, mentor and US Open winner Kazu Kokubo—won the 5Star Burton High Fives and then, some months later, he landed a second place in the X Games Aspen Halfpipe Final, bringing him the attention of pretty much every snowboard outlet on this planet. He carried on with a first place at the Burton European Open, a second place at the Burton US Open and a third place at the Oakley Arctic Challenge—earning him, as mentioned before, the 2012/2013 Halfpipe World Tour Champion title. Needless to say he’s the youngest rider who has achieved this.
So what’s next for Ayumu Hirano? We guess only time will tell. But one thing’s for sure: with a mentor like Kazuhiro Kokubo as well as an amount of that much talent, this Japanese whiz kid will go huge in the future. As Ayumu’s dad says, “The higher he goes, the better he feels. And he wants to go bigger than anyone. Even Shaun White.”
Just recently, Ayumu again proved his talent by earning halfpipe silver at the 2014 Sochi Olympics – Congrats Ayumu!
Photo: Ayuma Hirano takes 2nd place at the Burton US Open 2013 Halfpipe Finals
What age did you start snowboarding and why?
What snowboarders do you most look up to?
My brother Eiju Hirano, Kazu Kokubo, Danny Davis
What do you focus on most, slopestyle? Pipe? Big Air? and why?
Pipe
Date | POS | Event | Points | Comp |
---|
06.02.22 | 1st | CHN | XIIII Olympic Winter Games | 1000.00 |
|
21.01.22 | 2nd | USA | X Games | 691.04 |
|
13.01.22 | 1st | SUI | Laax Open 2022 | 1000.00 |
|
06.01.22 | 1st | USA | FIS World Cup | 900.00 |
|
16.12.21 | 5th | USA | Winter Dew Tour | 667.90 |
|
11.12.21 | 4th | USA | FIS World Cup | 769.20 |
|
14.04.21 | 2nd | JPN | FIS National Championships | 634.55 |
|
21.02.21 | 1st | USA | Rev Tour Rookie Fest - FIS NC - WRR | 500.00 |
|
05.03.18 | 1st | USA | Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships | 900.00 |
|
11.02.18 | 2nd | KOR | XXIII Olympic Winter Games 2018 | 905.90 |
|
25.01.18 | 1st | USA | X Games | 900.00 |
|
19.12.17 | 1st | CHN | FIS World Cup | 800.00 |
|
14.12.17 | 4th | USA | Winter Dew Tour | 736.60 |
|
04.12.17 | 1st | USA | Toyota U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix - FIS World Cup | 1000.00 |
|
01.09.17 | 2nd | NZL | Audi Quattro Winter Games NZ - FIS World Cup | 820.17 |
|
27.02.17 | 7th | USA | Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships | 592.70 |
|
23.01.17 | 9th | USA | X Games Aspen | 253.40 |
|
05.03.16 | 13th | USA | Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships | 329.67 |
|
24.02.16 | 1st | NOR | X Games Oslo | 900.00 |
|
12.02.16 | 5th | JPN | FIS World Cup 15/16 - Sapporo | 618.48 |
|
07.02.16 | 1st | JPN | FIS Race 15/16 - Sapporo #2 | 600.00 |
|
28.01.16 | 10th | USA | X Games Aspen | 167.22 |
|
18.01.16 | 1st | SUI | LAAX OPEN 2016 | 1000.00 |
|
10.12.15 | 2nd | USA | Winter Dew Tour - Breckenridge | 906.50 |
|
02.03.15 | 3rd | USA | Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships | 857.30 |
|
01.02.15 | 2nd | SUI | Burton European Open | 923.80 |
|
22.01.15 | 6th | USA | Winter X Games Aspen | 591.40 |
|
11.12.14 | 5th | USA | Dew Tour Mountain Championships | 742.70 |
|
14.09.14 | 7th | NZL | Burton High Fives | 406.00 |
|
07.02.14 | 2nd | RUS | Olympic Winter Games 2014 | 929.60 |
|
16.12.13 | 13th | USA | U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix | 517.95 |
|
12.12.13 | 6th | USA | Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships | 671.00 |
|
07.09.13 | 4th | NZL | Burton High Fives presented by MINI | 617.92 |
|
19.08.13 | 1st | NZL | FIS World Cup 13/14 - Cardrona | 900.00 |
|
31.03.13 | 9th | JPN | FIS National Championships 12/13 - Niseko | 344.40 |
|
06.03.13 | 3rd | NOR | The Arctic Challenge | 846.10 |
|
25.02.13 | 2nd | USA | Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships | 927.70 |
|
04.02.13 | 1st | SUI | Burton European Open | 900.00 |
|
24.01.13 | 2nd | USA | X Games Aspen | 904.10 |
|
13.12.12 | 5th | USA | Dew Tour - Mountain Championships | 709.90 |
|
15.08.12 | 1st | NZL | Burton High Fives | 800.00 |
|
05.03.12 | 22nd | USA | Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships |
|
|
15.12.11 | 28th | USA | Winter Dew Tour |
|
|
05.12.11 | 35th | USA | U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix |
|
|
08.08.11 | 5th | NZL | Burton New Zealand Open Snowboarding Championships |
|
|
11.03.11 | 1st | USA | Burton US Junior Open |
|
|
07.03.11 | 13th | USA | Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships |
|
|
09.02.10 | 7th | JPN | 28th CSBA Snowboard Championships |
|
|
09.03.09 | 15th | JPN | 27th JSBA ALL JAPAN Snowboarding Championships |
|
|
24.02.09 | 37th | JPN | Nissan X-Trail Asian Open |
|
Date | POS | Event | Points | Comp |
---|
06.02.22 | 1st | CHN | XIIII Olympic Winter Games |
1000.00 ![]() |
|
21.01.22 | 2nd | USA | X Games | 691.04 |
|
13.01.22 | 1st | SUI | Laax Open 2022 |
1000.00 ![]() |
|
06.01.22 | 1st | USA | FIS World Cup |
900.00 ![]() |
|
16.12.21 | 5th | USA | Winter Dew Tour | 667.90 |
|
11.12.21 | 4th | USA | FIS World Cup | 769.20 |
|
Star Tier | No. Result | Av. Finish | Av. SS | Av. HP | Av. QP | Av. BA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
INTL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
ELIT | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Star Tier | No. Result | Av. Finish | Av. SS | Av. HP | Av. QP | Av. BA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
REGL | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
NATL | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
INTL | 14 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
ELIT | 31 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |