Shaun White Reveals Which Gold Medal Is His Favorite

In the 2018 Winter Olympics Halfpipe final, Australian rider Scotty James had just laid down a switch backside 1280 immediately after hitting a cab 540. Ayumu Hirano sat in first place, and waited for White to tackle his final run.

“Shaun White, the biggest run of his life,” Todd Richards said on the NBC broadcast.

Donned in an all-white kit that’s reminiscent of a NASA spacesuit, White dropped into the pipe and completed back-to-back 1440s. Dropped a skyhook, then a double McTwist 1260, and finished with a frontside 1280. His run landed him a score of 97.75, and a gold medal.

“It went from the best ‘I’m doing it’ Disney Movie to just …and I’m considering retiring or quitting. It was just, ‘what do I do now?’ And I was really put to the test.’”

White also overcame several injuries sustained during a training incident in New Zealand the year before the Olympics. He clipped the top of the halfpipe and dropped 22 feet to the ground, where he landed on his face. White had 62 stitches, bruised lungs, and had to undergo facial surgery. Coming back from that injury made the win all that much sweeter.

Over the course of the nearly 40 minute interview with host Vivian Tu, he talks about what it was like to handle your own finances as a millionaire teenager, investing in Mammoth Mountain and The Snow League, and the advice he gives younger riders he comes into contact with. He also talked about his efforts to grow competitive snowboarding, and offer more consistent opportunities for riders.

“To give example, the sport of golf has about 60 million 65 million participants. Winter Sports has 130 million participants that go to the resorts, that buy the gear, that stay at the lodge,” he said.

“It's a huge number of people. And so, you're seeing that sponsors are really excited to tap into that market. We have amazing sponsors for the first ever Snow League and we continue to negotiate with some new people to come in and really kick off the rest of the season.”