Fans lament the increasing subjectivity of Olympic sports. Ice skating involved objectively-measured “school figures” in the Scotty Hamilton era, later replaced by short routines that allow judges to reward veterans and put rookies behind the (figure) eight-ball.
But judged competitions have an allure of their own. In skating, gymnastics, diving and X Games, the “perfect ten” or “perfect 100” remains an elusive holy grail for athletes.
You don’t see a perfect score too often. But snowboarder Shaun White, maligned for years after injuries and personal issues, ripped a 100 in an Olympic qualifying run on Saturday to the delight of fans around the globe.
Here’s video of White’s historic run:
A PERFECT !! @shaunwhite qualifies for his FOURTH #WinterOlympics as only he can. #BestOfUS pic.twitter.com/ATPv6J42mH
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) January 13, 2018
Social media has alighted in praise of White, called the “Tony Hawk” of a new generation by one breathless Twitter user:
Shaun White is our generation version of Tony Hawk.
— deejay from 3rd ward (@sadassQ) January 14, 2018
We can forgive Mr. DeeJay leaving out the apostrophe and the “s.” He’s enraptured, as are others who saw the event:
I LOVE SHAUN WHITE SO MUCH https://t.co/zqX0u91X83
— Shannon Butler (@shan__W0W) January 14, 2018
A perfect 100 for @shaunwhite!! Such an amazing run. And now to his 4th Olympics. 4x for any athlete is amazing. But 4 Olympics for a Boarder? Insane.
— Sandy Hridel (@SandyHridel) January 14, 2018
And a reflection on the perfect run by the man himself:
.@shaunwhite says he is now "on the right course" for the #WinterOlympics following his perfect 100 score at @AspenSnowmass. #BestOfUS pic.twitter.com/VLWuymTkz5
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) January 14, 2018
White will compete for a gold medal in snowboarding at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in February. He is currently unranked on all of SNIPdaily’s popularity charts, including the Twitter Top 100. But that could change in a hurry, especially if the veteran performer backs up Saturday’s trial with gold in South Korea.
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