Snowboarding Legendary Athlete : Shaun WhiteAthlete Details
Country: United States of America
Sport: Snowboard
Past Olympic Winter Games Attended:
Torino 2006
Shaun White took up snowboarding at the age of six to copy his older brother. At the age of 13, he became one of the youngest athletes to sign up with a major equipment supplier and turn professional.
By the time he arrived at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, the young Californian had won several snowboarding titles at the Winter X-Games, as well as most of the major snowboarding competitions — the Olympic Games were the only event missing from what was already a long list of achievements.
On the day of the halfpipe competition in Bardonecchia, White fell in the first set of heats. He needed to produce a great performance to reach the final which he did by finishing seventh in the heats with a score of 45.3.
In the first leg of the final, White showed the full range of his talent, with an array of figures and difficulties in the halfpipe. The judges appreciated his succession of backside air, 1080° and other Haakon flips. The snowboarder was awarded an outstanding mark of 46.8 points out of a possible 50, and finished in first place.
Before starting his second run, Shaun saw his opponents’ results and knew that he was already Olympic champion. As a result, he was able to enjoy the moment to the fullest, giving spectators a display of rotations with great amplitude and style.
