Ayumu Hirano proved not all eye exams are created equal.
Judges awarded the snowboarder from Japan a curiously low rating for his second run within the males’s halfpipe competitors on the Beijing Olympics on Thursday. Judges scored his near-perfect run as a 91.75, inflicting snowboarding legend-turned-NBC analyst Todd Richards’ blood to boil.
“Uhhhhh, what?” Richards stated after seeing Hirano’s rating, per Yahoo Sports activities’ Wenzell Ortiz. “Is there a mistake? How did that — wait a minute. There is no method. There’s nooo method! A 91.75?”
Richards’ rebuke of the judges continued on the opposite facet of a business break.
“So far as I am involved, the judges simply grenaded all their credibility,” he continued. “That run — I have been doing this for thus lengthy. Soooo lengthy. I do know what a superb run seems to be like.
“I do know the components of a profitable run. I do know after I see the most effective run that is ever been carried out in a halfpipe. Attempt to inform me the place you are deducting from this run. It is unbelievable that that is even taking place. It is a travesty to be fully sincere with you. I’m irate proper now.”
Hirano confirmed his championship mettle in his third run, delivering a competition-high 96 on his third, and ultimate, run.
Having overcome his astonishment, Richards was decided to not let others downplay Hirano’s achievement.
“Justice,” Richards stated. “That run is the heaviest run that has ever been carried out in a halfpipe. I’ll say that. It can echo by means of social media for the following nonetheless lengthy. Ayumu Hirano. The G, the brand new king.”
Properly stated. That is good TV.
