Scotty James

The youngest Australian to ever compete at the Winter Games, Australian snowboarder Scotty James has dominated the halfpipe event for more than a decade.

It's not often that you hear of Australians being into winter sports, but Scotty James is one of the few. In fact, in 2010, he became the youngest athlete to compete at the Winter Games in more than 50 years. So how did the rider from Melbourne pull it off? Snowboarding from the age of three definitely helped. They don’t even make snowboards small enough for three-year-olds, but when his dad saw a mini toy snowboard in a shop window, he bought it. Little did the shop owner realize that the 80cm board would be a stepping stone for Scotty to achieve so much in the sport.

He broke onto the international circuit in 2008 and has been tearing up the likes of the FIS World Cup, the Burton European Open and Winter X Games ever since.

But it hasn't been easy. Scotty has a condition that causes his knee to randomly dislocate – not ideal for a professional snowboarder. But when you take into account that he competed in the 2010 Winter Games with a fractured wrist, it's clear why nothing has stopped him from reaching the top of his game.

His track record is full of gold medals and big event wins. In 2019 he set a new record for consecutive world titles by taking halfpipe gold at the World Championship in Park City, Utah, while in 2020, he secured victory at the Laax Open and the X Games.

In 2021, Scotty stood on the podium numerous times and the following year he secured a silver medal at the Snowboard Halfpipe event in Beijing, China. He also scored a stunning 99-point halfpipe run (the second-highest in history) at the season opener at Copper Mountain. 2023 started with yet more success as Scotty claimed halfpipe gold at the X Games in Aspen.

One thing's for sure, there's more to be seen from Scotty James.