Shaun White Finishes Fourth In His Final Olympic Event

The legendary snowboarder Shaun White finished the last event of his fifth and final Winter Olympic Games in Beijing Friday. While White, 35, is a halfpipe legend who has been dominant in the sport since he won his first gold medal in the 2006 Winter Games, he ended up placing fourth in the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe event after a fall in his final run.

The snowboarder may have been surpassed by younger talents, but his legacy is still intact as ever as some of the top placers used moves he created and innovated. This includes the winning gold medalist Ayumu Hirano from Japan, who pulled off back-to-back double cork 1440s on his final run, a maneuver which won White gold back at the Pyeonchang Olympics. This same move is when White fell on his own routine today.

Along with Hirano winning gold, Australia’s Scotty James won the silver medal for men’s halfpipe, while Jan Scherrer from Switzerland took bronze. On White’s influence, Scherrer said, “I think everyone else who was riding in this comp grew up watching him on the halfpipe. I’m sure every single one competing today looked up to him for a very long time.

White gave an emotional interview with NBC Sports after the run. White discussed the fall and explained that he had been grappling with a leg injury through qualifiers and the Games’ main events, and eventually “couldn’t hold on” during the final run. We also saw a sweet moment where Shaun got to speak with his huge, adoring family over video chat. He didn’t hold back his emotions at all through the conversation and said “I can’t wait to see where this sport goes.”

You can watch the interview here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejn3JowlgW8