Legendary United States snowboarder Shaun White is calling it quits after the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. White cited recent injury issues for his decision.
“I was in Austria. The pipe wasn't the best conditions. I had this ankle issue which prevented me from competing further at the Mammoth qualification,” White, who is competing at his fifth Olympics, told reporters.
“I had this knee issue from where I had surgery in the summer before, and I injured my back working out randomly,” added White.
“And on the chairlift ride, the mountain was closing and no one was around, and I was watching the sun go down, and it just hit me. I was like, ‘this is it, these are the signs.'
Shaun White noted “it was a very sad and surreal moment” when he realized it was time to retire.
The 35-year-old snowboarder is set to compete in his fifth Olympics after making his Olympic debut in 2006. White has won three halfpipe Olympic gold medals in his career, in addition to all his X Games titles. He has also enjoyed a successful skateboarding career.
Shaun White will compete in the men's snowboard halfpipe qualification on Wednesday, with the medal round coming on Thursday. The American will try to go out with a bang, but no matter what happens, he's proud of what he has accomplished:
“I've done so much in the sport — I hope that my riding speaks for itself. I'm always trying to push and progress and do the next biggest things and try to pick up with what trends are happening within the sport and be ahead of that curve. I'm just kind of enjoying every moment.
“I'm most proud of staying on top of the sport that's ever-changing for as long as I have done. That's legacy performance.”
Shaun White admitted his one regret is that he gave up slopestyle competition too soon after suffering a wrist injury in 2014. But besides that, it has been one heck of a career for him, and he wouldn't change anything else.
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