Shaun White’s Olympic career has come to end, and it wasn’t the storybook finish he, or many others, were hoping for.
White fell on the final run of his career, hitting the halfpipe lip on his second jump and just missed a podium spot with a fourth-place finish. The American has won three Olympic gold medals in the halfpipe, and was looking to become just the second Winter Olympian to win a gold medal in four different Games.
Instead the gold went to Japan’s Ayumu Hirano who was the favorite coming in, and left little doubt after his run. Hirano was the last snowboarder to go, and his final run score of 96 easily moved him ahead of Australian Scotty James, who scored 92.50. Jan Scherrer of Switzerland won the bronze.
The 23-year-old Hirano now has an Olympic gold medal to go with his silver medals from PyeongChang 2018 and Sochi 2014.
After White finished his run, knowing his final Games would end in heartbreak, he raised his goggles and waved to the crowd. In a show of respect and true sportsmanship, his fellow competitors lined up to hug the 35-year-old trailblazer.
“That’s it,” White could be heard saying to the television cameras. “I wanted it. My legs were giving out on me every hit.”
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