LIVIGNO, Italy (Kyodo) -- Japan's Ikuma Horishima claimed his second straight Olympic bronze medal in the men's moguls on Thursday as Australia's Cooper Woods won gold after a tiebreaker at the Milan Cortina Winter Games.

The 28-year-old Horishima scored 83.44 points in the crucial second run in the final, but the 2022 Beijing Games bronze medalist was overtaken by Canada's Mikael Kingsbury and then Woods, who both logged 83.71.

The Australian earned the win thanks to his better turns score at Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park.

"I'm glad to have kept myself on the podium," Horishima said. "Without this medal, I'd have been left feeling frustrated and wondering what these four years were for. I'm relieved to have achieved the bare minimum."

Horishima, who won a moguls world championship title for the third time in Switzerland last March, finished the final's first run in northern Italy in fifth on 80.35 to reach the eight-man final.

He landed his signature 1440 on his second aerial of the last run, but was only awarded 17.06 for his overall air score, which proved costly in his bid to become Japan's first male Olympic freestyle skiing gold medalist.

"I think everything apart from the 1440 was perfect," Horishima said. "I'd have won gold had I nailed it."

"If I went with a 1080, I'd have won gold by nailing it, but no medal if I didn't make it. The 1440 kept me on the podium."

Horishima has been meticulous in his approach to training since basing himself in Oslo, Norway, in 2024. There, he had access to an indoor training facility.

He also made an effort to train at the time of day when the Olympic competition was scheduled.

"Winning back-to-back medals is big," he said after 0.27 separated him from the other two medalists. "I don't really feel that gap."

With dual moguls still to come at the Milan Cortina Games, Horishima remained upbeat.

"It's a great chance," he said. "The pace will go up a level, and it'll come down to keeping my feet and body positions right."