Snowboard superstar Scotty James has fallen agonisingly short in his quest to complete his Olympic medal collection, the Australian outgunned by his Japanese rival in the Milan-Cortina halfpipe.

James was looking to continue a golden streak for Australia after Josie Baff’s victory in the snowboard cross earlier in the day and Cooper Woods’s unexpected triumph in the moguls event.

Competing at his fifth Olympics, 31-year-old James had to settle for another silver medal.

He could not hide his disappointment though and appeared to be fighting back tears when he received his silver medal from from Australia’s Olympic icon Jess Fox.

James still makes history as the first Australian to win three medals, winning silver in Beijing (2022) and bronze in PyeongChang eight years ago.

Japan’s world No.1 Yuto Totsuka scored a whopping 95.00 to take the gold medal while his countryman Ryusei Yamada bagged bronze with 92.00.

James fell on his first run trying to land the combination that he put down for the first time in competition at last month’s X-Games, with a switch backside 1440 directly into a backside 1440.

He nailed it in his second run and looked dismayed when he was only awarded 93.50 despite being the only rider to complete the elite-level sequence.

The Victorian had one last chance to improve on his silver medal position but was unable to improve his score, falling again on his final trick after a brilliant run that was certain to give the gold medal a shake.

The heartache and frustration was there in plain sight when he fell. He clutched his his head in anguish and then collapsed to the snow.

“He ran out of pipe because he was willing to give it everything, all that he had to gain that gold medal around his neck,” commentator Torah Bright said on Nine.

“Heartbreak and greatness stand side by side. He was willing to risk it and he literally had it, but he ran out of pipe.

“Oh, Scotty, we love you no matter what. You are the man.”

Australia’s other competitor in the Livigno final, Valentino Guseli, also crashed twice but showed his immense talent on his last run, scoring 88.00, to finish fifth.

“I think when it’s something like this, everyone wants to win and … we all jumped the gun a little bit,” Guseli said.

“Even Scotty, you know, he didn’t get his first run ... and then, yeah, unfortunately didn’t get his last one either.

“You always want to put on a show, especially if you don’t win.

“I landed one of the best runs I’ve ever landed, which is always a good thing. And I think I had the highest air of night, so I’ll take that. That’s a massive win.

“That’s the philosophy I have in snowboarding, to go as big as I can. I’m happy that I did that tonight.”