Scotty James has one more goal remaining as fatherhood focuses his mind on Winter Olympic gold in snowboard halfpipe

Scotty James has had a remarkable couple of weeks, even by the standards of his illustrious career as a world-class snowboarder. He first clinched gold at the FIS World Cup in Laax, his tenth World Cup victory. A week later, the 30-year-old became the only athlete to win four consecutive halfpipe gold medals at the X-Games in Aspen.

This marks James' tenth medal at the invitational event. “It’s a benchmark,” James said in an interview with ABC Sport. “It’s the event that we all want to win, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have some success here, and it’s amazing, and to be able to break some records now is a dream come true.” He also added, “I plan to hopefully break some more records in the coming years.”

Nevertheless, with a year to go until the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, James still has his sights set on the one prize that has eluded him. “I think I have one stone unturned,” James said. “If I’m being completely honest, it’s winning a gold medal.” James has come close to gold on several occasions. He won bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and silver at the Beijing Winter Olympics four years later. In Beijing, Japan's Ayumu Hirano surpassed James, who had led with a more technically difficult run, by landing the first-ever triple corks twice in competition.

Even after winning silver in Beijing, James remained adamant that the next step in his journey was “completing my collection in the trophy room.” Three years later, he seems to be moving towards that goal and is even more motivated to succeed in what could be his fifth Olympic appearance. “I’m obviously one of the older guys in the field, but my spirit still feels young,” James said. “We just had a little boy, Leo (with wife Chloe Stroll), who’s almost four months old now, and it’s really given me a new sense of motivation and a new perspective as an athlete. It’s making me cherish my time on the mountain even more.”

James has been competing in FIS events since 2008, when he was just 14 years old. He made his Olympic debut in Calgary in 2010 at the age of 15. Now in his 30s, James says that his longevity in the youth-dominated sport has helped shape his success today. “It’s been a long journey,” James said. “I think it probably comes down to the fact that I found a lot of consistency in myself. Mentally and physically, I’ve consistently done the important things, trained really hard on the mountain. And, you know, I had to be really resilient because I’m from Australia and I left home at a young age, and my family and I sacrificed to pursue my dreams. So, all of that combined is a big driving force for me, and it keeps me honest with my goals.”

James described his record-breaking X-Games win as the “pinnacle” of the sport, and said he was “super proud” to break the record of his good “rival and friend” Shaun White, who retired after his fifth Olympics in Beijing, at the age of 35. With that in mind, James still has plenty of time to achieve his goals. All signs point to the Australian continuing to improve over the next year and beyond. The three-time overall World Cup champion is again leading the overall standings this season, aiming for a fifth crystal globe, while the World Championships in St Moritz in March are also on the horizon, where he will be looking to add to his three halfpipe world titles.

“For me, this year has been one of the most enjoyable and challenging seasons to date,” James said. “Every single competitor is there, at least all of my most challenging competitors are. So it’s definitely made me have to bring my best, which is great, they push me and challenge me.” The first priority is qualifying for Milan-Cortina. After that, James has his sights set on gold.