Snowboard Big Air 'controversy' swept Japan-China medals in 'controversy over judgment and broadcasting accidents' [Milan Olympics]

*This content was translated by AI.

One snowboard event at the 2026 Milan and Cortina D'Ampezzo (Italy) Winter Olympics caused a series of broadcasting accidents due to controversy over the decision.

In the men's big air snowboarding competition held at the Valtellina Lvigno Snow Park in Italy on the 8th (Korea time), Japan's Kimura Kira (179.50 points) and Kimata Ryoma (171.50 points) won gold and silver medals, respectively, while China's Su Yu-ming (168.50 points) won bronze medals.

The controversy over the decision came as Su Yu-ming won the bronze medal, beating Oliver Martin of the United States (163.00 points, 4th place). U.S. Yahoo Sports reported, "Martin unfortunately missed the medal amid the controversy over the referee's decision," adding, "Olympic medalist Su Yu-ming won the bronze medal despite landing on the ground with both hands on the last run."

"Su Weiming tried the highest difficulty skill in the competition to challenge for the gold medal, but it is common to deduct points if the skill is not completed," the media said. "Before Su Weiming's score was announced, Martin was expected to take the podium, but Su Weiming received 80.25 points and pushed Martin out of the podium."

"It is difficult to say that (the judgment) was a fair result. Events such as Big Air often involve subjectivity, he said. "If Su Weiming had landed perfectly, the gold medal would have been almost certain. However, the decision is at least questionable as it was slightly shaken when landing and eventually had to reach out and balance it. The referees may have given a greater deduction, but rather, they gave the attempt itself a higher score than the landing failure."

It wasn't just a controversy over the decision. Todd Richards, a former commentator who was hosting the final match on NBC in the U.S., said, "It was really boring, not knowing that the microphone was on. "The preliminary round was much more exciting (than the final)," he said, which was controversial as it was delivered to viewers.

As the controversy grew, Richards said, "In the actual final, many players fell, and almost all players repeated the same technique to challenge themselves. There was a problem with the format of the tournament, not with the players' skills. "I think the preliminary round was more exciting," he explained, but said, "It was nothing to do with the players, and I really didn't mean it, but I apologize if anyone took it as if they were criticizing the players."

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*This content was translated by AI.