OLMYPICS: Snowboard-Japan's Kimura and Kimata dazzle in Big Air to claim gold and silver

Japanese snowboarders Kira Kimura and Ryoma Kimata won the gold and silver medals in the men's Big Air snowboarding final at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Saturday, dethroning champion Su Yiming of China with their soaring jumps in the Italian Alps.

Su ended the cold night in the mountain town of Livigno with the bronze as he could not overcome the powerhouses from Japan.

Kimura stumbled on the landing of his second of three runs but impressed the judges with a difficult switch backside 1900 in his final bid to secure his first Olympic gold.

The 21-year-old smiled broadly and clapped his hands on the podium at the medal ceremony after crying with his coach Daisuke Nishimura as his victory was announced.

"I've devoted a lot of time to snowboarding this year," Kimura said. "My family, coach and everyone around me gave me tremendous support, so I'm truly delighted to have achieved this result and prove the doubters wrong."

Asked how Japan became so strong, Kimura said the team had practiced a lot in the off-season, using high level facilities, including the use of gigantic airbags, and praised the coach.

Reflecting on his execution, the rider said his second run "didn't quite click, and I couldn't land it properly," but added that he was able to fix that and perform a clean third run.

Kimura scored a total of 179.50 ahead of the 171.50 for Kimata, who said he was delighted with his performance.

"I gave it 120%," 23-year-old Kimata said. "I gave the result and my technique my absolute maximum."

DETHRONED CHAMPION

After Su dared a technical spin on his first run, the 21-year-old Chinese fell on his hands in the second round, which hurt his chances of retainingthe title.

Su said he was proud of how he had performed under the intense pressure of his role as defending champion.

"I'm happy to finally have every single colour of the Olympic medals, it's a big thing that I want to celebrate," Su said. He won a silver in slopestyle in Beijing.

Competitors were ranked by a combined score of their two best jumps. Su's total was 168.50.

The Big Air event features riders launching off a jump and performing an aerial trick involving flips, spins and twists. The medal contest was held at night under floodlights.

All of the Big Air medallists are expected to compete in the snowboarding slopestyle contest that starts on February 16.

"Of course, I'll be aiming for gold in slopestyle too," Kimura added.

-Reporting by Giulia Segreti and Lisa Richwine in Livigno; Editing by Ken Ferris and Alison Williams/Reuters