Winter Olympics: Irate snowboarding commentator destroys judges on air over controversial low score

Todd Richards said panel had ‘grenaded their credibility’ with marks for Ayumu Hirano

Ayumu Hirano of Team Japan wins the gold medal during the Olympic Games 2022, Men's Snowboard Halfpipe Classic on February 11, 2022 in Zhangjiakou China. (Getty Images)

An irate Winter Olympics TV commentator blasted judges in the snowboarding halfpipe final after they handed the eventual gold medalist a controversial low score.

NBC’sTodd Richards slammed the panel after they only gave the Japanese star Ayumu Hirano 91.75, despite him becoming the first person to land the sport’s hardest trick in an Olympics.

Richards watched on as Hirano pulled off a triple cork on his second run, and even declared “it’s over” and “no one will touch that run.”

The commentator, who competed in the event in 1998 for Team USA, predicted “a 98” for the run and was livid when the judges came back well short of that.

The score was only good for second place at that stage of the final, and a furious Richards made his feelings abundantly clear.

“Uhhhh. What?” he said after the score first flashed up.

“Is there a mistake? How did that — wait a minute. There’s no way. There is no way! A 91.75?”

And he was not done there.

“As far as I’m concerned, the judges just grenaded all their credibility,” Richards said.

“That run - I’ve been doing this for so long. So long. I know what a good run looks like.

“I know the ingredients of a winning run. I know when I see the best run that’s ever been done in a halfpipe.

“Try to tell me where you’re deducting from this run. It’s unbelievable that this is even happening. It’s a travesty to be completely honest with you. I am irate right now.”

(AFP via Getty Images)

But the low score did not matter in the end, as on his third and final run in the competition Hirano recorded a gold medal score of 96.

“Justice. That run is the heaviest run that has has ever been done in a halfpipe. I will say that. It will echo through social media for the next however long. Ayumu Hirano. The G, the new king,” Richards said after watching it.

Australia’s Scotty James finished second, and Switzerland’s Jan Scherrer took the bronze. Team USA’s Shaun White finished his final Olympics in fourth place.