Watch Slow-Motion Video of the Triple Cork, Which Could Make Its Olympic Halfpipe Debut

The flips and tricks that snowboarders perform can seem nearly impossible, and these athletes just keep finding ways to push the boundaries of their sport. One trick, the triple cork, has been a regular feature in the slopestyle discipline for some time, but at the 2022 Winter Olympics, for the first time ever, it just might be the deciding factor in the men's halfpipe final.

To rack up points, the best snowboarders in the world are upping the ante with this truly wild skill. The triple cork requires a snowboarder to flip three times in the air, while rotating diagonally. The "triple" part refers to the number of off-axis flips; the skill's name is then followed by a number that indicates the number of degrees the athlete rotated in the air. A triple cork 1080, for instance, would involve three flips and three rotations, while a 1440 would have a whopping four rotations.

Up until recently, the triple cork was a snowboarding trick exclusively performed in slopestyle. The style of that course, with large jumps built in, is more conducive to performing a trick with this many flips and rotations, as opposed to the curved walls of the halfpipe. Japanese snowboarder Ayumu Hirano became the first to land a triple cork in halfpipe competition in December 2021, then followed it up with a triple cork 1440 at the X Games in January. You can see his historic trick above.

So who could potentially land the first triple cork in Olympic halfpipe history? Hirano is all but certain to attempt to repeat it, along with most of his teammates. Australia's Scotty James, who edged out Harano at the X Games to take home gold, has been working on it as well. It's possible that American Shaun White, who briefly tried the trick some years ago, could take a run at it, too. Intriguingly, as USA Today notes, a halfpipe run that includes the triple cork has yet to win a gold medal. Could one of these athletes change that in Beijing? You'll have to tune in to the men's halfpipe final, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 10, to find out.