Scotty James will be 35 by the time the next Winter Olympics rolls around in 2030. But that doesn’t mean Australia’s three-time Olympic medallist will be calling it quits any time soon.

James was shattered to walk away with silver in the men’s half-pipe at the Milano Cortina Games, although he picked himself up and managed to realise what an achievement it was. He’s now won two silvers and a bronze in his Olympics career, but the gold continues to elude him.

There’d been speculation the 31-year-old might announce his retirement if he won gold at this Games. But speaking to Channel 9 on Saturday night, James revealed he has no plans to step away just yet.

“I’m committed to getting to the next Games,” he said. “I think it’s a fair question to ask (about retirement). I’m of a more vintage in the field, but to be honest, I feel as motivated and as excited.

“Snowboarding gets me up every day, I still feel mentally engaged in it and trying to spearhead the sport not only from an accolades perspective but also just in the true progression. I love it, it’s my passion, it’s been my life, and I plan to go up there and continue to be that bad smell for the next generation. They’ll probably want me to nick off, but I won’t. I’ll keep battling them well into the future and the next Games.”

Scotty James ‘hates losing’, motivated to keep competing

James admitted to having mixed emotions about winning his second silver. Many thought he deserved a higher score than 93.50 for his second run, which fell just short of Yuto Totsuka’s 95.00.

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James crashed on his final run, and many thought he only needed to land his final trick to get the gold. “You felt like you had to deliver your best to win,” he said.

“I would be lying if I didn’t say it feels a little bit bittersweet. I had a very clear intention that it was something I wanted to accomplish, and to be honest, what I could sleep on last night was that I wasn’t able to pull that off. I can own that, I can live with that. I’m OK with the outcome. I’m still really proud of the run I put together.

“I’m going to be that bad smell for four years – I hate losing, this has motivated me now. I look forward to many more battles in the half-pipe against the guys I was competing against.”