Of all his titles, 'Dad' is the most important

It's not easy, and those with short memories might forget that Hirano has already been out there for more than a dozen years.

His first big splash, in fact, came at the same mountain he competed on last week, where, at age 14, he won a silver medal at the Winter X Games, becoming the youngest athlete to reach the podium in one of his sport's marquee events.

That set him up to be labeled as the wunderkind who someday was going to beat White at the Olympics. But that took time. He won silver medals in 2014 and 2018 — the second of those in a spirited battle with White, who snatched away the gold medal, his third, by landing every trick he had never completed successfully on a run before.

"I've seen his arc and his career, where he came out swinging and he had so much tension, so much pressure," White said. "I think that kind of hurt his trajectory a little. But he came back, and he's in the spot of heading into the Olympics being the top guy.

"The fact he landed that last run at the Olympics shows he's got some grit to him."

The final run White speaks of came in 2022 when, after landing the triple cork on his second run, Hirano still found himself in second place behind Australian Scotty James.

Hirano came back, repeated the trick and, that time, got the score and the gold medal that came with it.

And that's how Japan ended up with a snowboard champion. Hirano's star, already a bright one back home, started radiating even further.

White said it was hard to miss the life-size posters of the 1.65-meter daredevil hawking athletic gear at a mall in Sydney earlier this month.

For Hirano the snowboarder, the fame isn't something he seeks — it simply goes with the territory.

For Hirano the dad, though, being really good at what he does has a new meaning now — he's not just doing it for himself.

"I feel like I have to do it right to leave my legacy for this child's future," he said. "I'm fortunate to continue doing things I love, and I feel that I can keep on competing, not just with my own will, but with that of my family.

"The family has become the source of my energy."

Agencies via Xinhua