Japanese snowboarder Kaishu Hirano stole the show at the Olympics with record jump higher than a 3-story house
- Japanese snowboarder Kaishu Hirano stole the show at the Olympic men's snowboarding halfpipe.
- Hirano set a world record on his final run, leaping more than 24 feet out of the halfpipe.
Kaishu Hirano didn't win a medal in the men's snowboarding halfpipe final at Beijing 2022, but he did set a world record.
Hirano pushed himself an astounding 24'4" out of the halfpipe on his third and final run of the competition, going higher than any man ever has on a backside air.
Given that the halfpipe is 22 feet deep, Hirano was more than 44 feet off the ground at his peak.
Watching Hirano's heroic leap is difficult to comprehend, as he just keeps going up and up and up and up.
Hirano, 19, unfortunately didn't medal in the event. His first run ended with a score of 75.50, and he failed to better it on his subsequent two runs, crashing out on both to ultimately finish ninth in the standings.
Still, Hirano had plenty to celebrate. In addition to Hirano's world record big air, his older brother Ayumu took gold in the competition with a jaw-dropping final run of his own.
Kaishu Hirano might not be on the podium yet, but given how much air he got on his run this year, his future Olympic stock looks set to keep going up.
And up.
And up.