
Story highlightsShaun White aims for halfpipe gold American won gold in 2010 and 2014 but was fourth in Sochi
(CNN)He’s an icon in his sport and one of the most recognizable and talked about figures at the Winter Olympics, but Shaun White has a score to settle at the Games.
The US snowboarder, 31, is chasing Olympic redemption and a chance to soothe the gnawing disappointment of four years ago. Follow @cnnsport He’s begun on the right track, too, leading the his favorite halfpipe event after two qualifying runs in Pyeongchang. White has been in front most of his life. He went to Sochi looking for a “three-peat” — a third straight Olympic halfpipe gold medal to take his stock stratospheric. He also took on the new slopestyle event to keep his flame burning for the sport, but expectation and injury struck.Read MoreHe injured his wrist in a fall in slopestyle and fell on his final run in the halfpipe, finishing fourth. The legend was intact, but White was bruised and burned out. “At the time I was burning out. It’s hard to admit,” White told reporters in South Korea. “At the time my heart wasn’t in it.”It’s like if you’ve ever been in a relationship and someone is like, they love you. I wish I could flip a switch and love you back … love snowboarding like I did when I was seven.”READ: Winter Olympics day four: Live updates READ: Best photos from day four in PyeongchangJUST WATCHEDShaun White’s emotional Olympic history ReplayMore Videos …MUST WATCH
Shaun White’s emotional Olympic history 03:24White took some time out to pursue business interests and tour with his rock band “Bad Things.”
WOW… My fourth Olympics! #Honored ?@TheTobyMiller pic.twitter.com/2alPkcYrBp
— Shaun White (@shaunwhite) February 7, 2018 Just when he thought he was dealing with it, gas station attendants or supermarket workers would bring it up back home in California and the internal gremlins would begin again. He needed to scratch that Olympics itch. READ: Chloe Kim — America’s 17-year-old snowboarding sensationHowever, his preparations for the Games received a bloody nose — literally — when he smashed into the lip of the halfpipe while training in New Zealand in October and needed 62 stitches to his head and face. Crashes go with the territory in the world of halfpipe snowboarding when athletes fly high above the 22ft walls of pipe and perform a series of tricks, twists and upside down turns, with names like double cork 1440 or switch double-cork 1260.White knows the rules of the game, and knew he had to get back in the saddle.In January he did just that and the man they used to call the”Flying Tomato ” because of his shock of red hair earned a perfect score of 100 in the US Grand Prix in Snowmass, Colorado to secure Olympic qualification.
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READ: Teenage snowboarder secures first Team USA gold‘Sacrifice’If White is a veteran in snowboarding terms he’s likely to face stiff competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics — the young guns are smoking. Japan’s Ayumu Hiran, 19, won the X Games at the end of January (which White skipped) with the first ever back-to-back double cork 1440s in competition. It earned him a score of 99 — only missing out on the 100 because there was once rider yet to come.
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Mirai Nagasu reacts after performing in the figure-skating team event. She became the first woman in US history to land a triple axel at the Olympics. The Americans finished with the bronze, however, as Canada took gold.Hide Caption 1 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Dutch speedskater Ireen Wust celebrates on the podium after winning the 1,500 meters. Wust now has 10 medals in her career, making her the most decorated skater in Olympic history.Hide Caption 2 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Canadian skier Mikael Kingsbury catches some air on his way to winning gold in the moguls.Hide Caption 3 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12German biathlete Arnd Peiffer aims his rifle during the 12.5-kilometer pursuit.Hide Caption 4 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12American snowboarder Chloe Kim completes a qualifying run on the halfpipe.Hide Caption 5 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier celebrates after winning her second biathlon event of these Olympics. She is also the first woman to win a pursuit and a sprint at the same Olympics.Hide Caption 6 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Shoko Ono of Japan falls on top of Dominique Ruegg of Switzerland during a women’s hockey game.Hide Caption 7 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Canada’s Barrett Martineau trains for the skeleton.Hide Caption 8 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12For the second straight Olympics, American snowboarder Jamie Anderson won gold in the slopestyle competition.Hide Caption 9 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12American figure skater Adam Rippon competes in the team event.Hide Caption 10 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Norway’s Magnus Nedregotten prepares to throw a stone during a mixed-doubles curling match.Hide Caption 11 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Ice dancers Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue wait for their score in the team figure-skating event. They played a key role in Canada winning the gold.Hide Caption 12 of 19
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Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12American snowboarder Jessika Jenson competes in the slopestyle final.Hide Caption 14 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Alina Zagitova, an Olympic athlete from Russia, had an excellent performance in the team figure-skating event. She and her teammates won the silver.Hide Caption 15 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Course crew members are shrouded in snow as they carry ski gates. Heavy winds have wreaked havoc on the Alpine skiing schedule, forcing some events to be postponed.Hide Caption 16 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto performs her free-skate routine during the team figure-skating event.Hide Caption 17 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Canada’s Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris brush the ice during a curling match.Hide Caption 18 of 19
Photos: Winter Olympics: Monday, February 12Canadian figure skater Patrick Chan, center front, reacts to his scores in the team competition.Hide Caption 19 of 19
White, though, insists he has more up his sleeve for PyeongChang.”I would love to feel like an underdog but I just don’t,” White told a press conference at the US Grand Prix.”Ever since I can remember I’ve been expected to do well not only from the media and fans but even more so from myself. So I’m going in to hopefully do my best.” READ: From near-death crash to bronze at the OlympicsWhite’s best may be good enough, but he admits the pursuit of glory takes its toll.”You get to these goals in life and it’s not always what it seems. There’s two sides of the coin in everything,” he told reporters.”You can be the Olympic champion but you sacrifice things along the way.”Sitting here today I am a happier person and more comfortable with who I am and what I’ve accomplished and what I intend to accomplish than ever before.”The men’s halfpipe qualification begins Tuesday with the final Wednesday.
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