Hanging Up the Board
The five time Olympian and three time gold medalist, Shaun White and his snowboard after hitting the halfpipe for the last time at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. He stepped down as a legend, with so much gratitude and love for the support he has been shown on the journey.
Five-time Olympian and three-time Olympic gold medalist, Shaun White is a snowboarding legend who hit the halfpipe for his last time at the Winter Games in Beijing this year.
He began shredding at the young age of thirteen in his hometown of San Diego, California.
The Olympic Winter Games Torino 2006 kicked off his wild ride when he won his first gold medal on the halfpipe at only 19 years old. His red hair earned him the nickname of the “Flying Tomato” after his impressive performance at these games.
He went on to take the gold again in Vancouver 2010, then 4th in Sochi 2014, and gold once more in PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. The final gold medal was sweet because prior to the games, White took a hit on a super pipe in New Zealand requiring him to get 62 stitches but he healed in time to qualify and the injury certainly did not slow him down.
The oldest competitor in the discipline and the oldest Team USA halfpipe rider at age 35, he went out taking 4th in Beijing 2022. In the Men’s Halfpipe Finals, White unfortunately fell on his third run and missed the podium. Nevertheless, he had a great run and finished with tears in his eyes, gratefulness in his heart, and a career like no other.
It will be exciting to see what is next for Shaun White as he continues his journey off his board.
Josie Webster is Copy Editor for El Cid Online. This is her first year on staff. She enjoys writing profiles and features about people that she finds interesting...
