Shaun White is officially ending his snowboarding career.
White competed in the final event of his career on the slopes last week and came up just shy of reaching the podium in the men's halfpipe, falling on his third and final run to keep his best score at 85.00, good enough for fourth place in the final standings.
On Friday, White took to social media to share an emotional message with his fans.
I slid down the halfpipe at the Olympics for the final time. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/WxCOGRB7wy
— Shaun White (@shaunwhite) February 18, 2022
"It has been a rollercoaster of emotions and I am overwhelmed with appreciation,” White wrote in his post while thanking his sponsorship partners, parents and siblings. He also thanked his role model Tony Hawk.
"Tony showed me the ropes… (and took me under his wing when it wasn’t cool to have a 8 year old pimply faced redhead kid around.)"
White's interview after his final time on the halfpipe last week was emotional, too.
"I just want to thank everyone for watching," White said on the NBC broadcast. "Everyone at home, thank you. Snowboarding, thank you. It's been the love of my life."
"I just want to thank everyone for watching. Everyone at home, thank you. Snowboarding, thank you. It's been the love of my life."
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 11, 2022
An emotional @ShaunWhite reflects on his career and his final run. #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/dTSTX30o7f
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The broadcast then cut to footage of his family, with White telling them that he loved them all and couldn't wait to see them all again.
"I wanted more today, but I'll take what I can get. I'm proud. It's been my life," White said.
White ends his career as one of the most decorated snowboarders in the history of the sport. He is one of eight snowboarders with at least three Olympic medals, and he is the only one among them with three golds. His 13 Winter X Game gold medals are the most in history, and he was the first athlete to win X Game gold in both the winter and summer games in two different sports (snowboarding and skateboarding).
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White began his 2022 Beijing Olympics run slow with a 24.25 score in his first run, but rebounded in his second qualifying run, scoring 86.25 to secure a spot in the halfpipe final and ensure a chance to compete for a medal. That score was the fourth-highest in the field.
The next day, he started the final with a score of 72.00, good enough to keep him in fourth in the field of 12, but he built on the score in the second run with a mark of 85.00. Though Australia's Scott James and Switzerland's Jan Scherrer each posted lower scores in their third run, White fell on his final turn, keeping him at fourth with James (92.50) and Scherrer (87.25) claiming silver and bronze, and Japan's Ayumu Hirano (96.00) taking gold.
What an Olympic career. What a legacy.
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) February 11, 2022
Thank you, @ShaunWhite. pic.twitter.com/rtKjwJkBkN
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“Everybody was asking me what my legacy in this sport has been, and I’m like, 'You’re watching it,” White said, according to Yahoo Sports. “These younger riders, they’ve been on my heels every step of the way. To see them finally surpass me is, I think, deep down what I always wanted. To be beaten, to finally walk away without feeling like, ‘I could have done this...’”