By Mari Saito
ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) – Three-time gold medalist Shaun White has returned for his fifth and likely final Olympics looking to cement his legacy on the mountains outside Beijing in a sport that became synonymous with his name 16 years ago.
White was 19 when he picked up his first gold at the 2006 Turin Games and has since become the world’s most successful and prominent snowboarder after he won his third gold medal in dramatic fashion at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
In recent years, the 35-year-old has suffered a slew of injuries, admitting in a Rolling Stone interview last month that the sport was putting an increasing strain on his body. The athlete, who is dating actress Nina Dobrev, also said family life appealed to him.
Away from the halfpipe, White also recently launched a luxury snowboarding and lifestyle brand, WHITESPACE, which features a collaboration with the late Virgil Abloh of Louis Vuitton.
In January, White made a confident return at the Laax Open snowboard halfpipe in Switzerland, finishing third behind Beijing favourite Ayumu Hirano of Japan and Swiss Jan Scherrer. Beaming and high-fiving fans after the competition, White looked relaxed after a run that featured a Double McTwist 1260.
The Swiss contest came just weeks after White, who was born with a heart defect, recovered from a bout of COVID-19, which he contracted over the holidays.
On Tuesday, White shared an Instagram video of his plane touching down in Beijing, followed by footage of his bus driving into the Chinese capital ahead of the official opening of the Winter Games this week.
White will face an ever-younger crop of rivals when he drops into the snowboard halfpipe competition starting next Wednesday.
In a post on Instagram post ahead of the Games, White looked back on his career on the slopes, noting that he had spent the past 29 years on a snowboard, 23 of them as a professional athlete.
“I’m so proud that I helped grow and shape the sport into what it is today. I can’t wait to see where the next generation takes it.”
(Editing by Robert Birsel)
