BEIJING, China — As Shaun White prepares for what he says will be his last Olympic halfpipe competition, this seems like the right moment to look back at the U.S. snowboarding legend's Olympics appearances, starting with his first in 2006.
Back then, he was a 19-year-old phenom with wild hair that got him the nickname "The Flying Tomato."
In 2022 in Beijing, on his fifth trip to the Winter Olympics, he's 35 years old and dealing with the remnants of multiple injuries over the years. He said at a news conference last week that this Olympics will mark the end of his professional snowboarding career.
"In my mind, I've decided this will be my last competition," he said.
So let's take a look back at White's long and decorated career in Olympics snowboarding.
2006 Torino Olympics
The 19-year-old from California went to Torino, Italy, for the 2006 Olympics and walked away with his first gold medal in halfpipe.
The snowboarder known as "The Flying Tomato" earned his title with a 46.8-point first run in the final, bearing teammate Danny Kass (44 points) and Markku Koski of Finland (41.5 points).
2010 Vancouver Olympics
At the 2010 Games in Canada, White earned his second gold medal with 48.4 points and a victory over Peetu Piiroinen of Finland (45 points) and his U.S. teammate Scott Lago (42.8 points).
He even earned the stateside honor of appearing on a Wheaties box, along with fellow Team USA gold medalists Lindsey Vonn and Seth Westcott.
2014 Sochi Olympics
White planned to compete in halfpipe and slopestyle, but he withdrew from the slopestyle competition just before the Games began. He said he wanted to focus solely on earning a third straight gold medal in halfpipe.
When it came time for his signature event, he was denied the three-peat.
In fact, he was denied a place on the podium at all. His second run score of 90.25 points wasn't enough to catch the leaders: Ioiuri Podladtchikov of Switzerland, who took gold, and Japan's Ayumu Hirano and Taku Hiraoka, who took silver and bronze.
2018 Pyeongchang Olympics
White arrived in South Korea without being the favorite in the halfpipe. He'd also suffered a devastating fall the previous October that left him in the hospital. He needed the performance of his life, and he responded to the pressure in a dramatic fashion.
On the second run, White was trailing Hirano, who won silver in Sochi. He was the last man down and pulled out a score of 97.75 to win his third gold medal in the event.
2022 Beijing Olympics
Fast forward to 2022, and White is in Beijing for his fifth Olympics and one last go at the halfpipe.
White qualified for the finals, scoring 72.00, 85.00 and 14.75, finishing fourth and just off the podium in what he says is the final competition of his career.
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