Shaun White

This article is about the professional snowboarder and skateboarder. For the Major League Baseball player, see Sean White.

Shaun White

White (right) with Sir Richard Branson in April 2009
Personal information
Full name	Shaun Roger White
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	154 lb (70 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Snowboarding, Skateboarding
Medal record Men's snowboarding Representing the United States Olympic Games 2006 Torino Halfpipe 2010 Vancouver Halfpipe Winter Dew Tour medal record 2008 Breckenridge Slopestyle 2008 Breckenridge Superpipe 2009 Mt. Snow Slopestyle 2009 Mt. Snow Superpipe 2009 Northstar Slopestyle 2009 Northstar Superpipe Dew Tour medal record 2007 Vert 2007 Vert 2008 Vert Winter X Games medal record 2003 Slopestyle 2003 Superpipe 2004 Slopestyle 2005 Slopestyle 2006 Slopestyle 2006 Superpipe 2008 Superpipe 2009 Slopestyle 2009 Superpipe 2010 Superpipe 2002 Slopestyle 2002 Superpipe 2007 Superpipe 2007 Slopestyle 2008 Slopestyle X Games medal record Men's skateboarding 2007 Vert 2005 Vert 2008 Vert TTR World Snowboard Tour record Men's snowboarding 2007 Overall 2008 Overall Snowboarding Grand Prix medal record Men's snowboarding 2009 Superpipe

Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986) is an American professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He rides regular stance, twelve and negative three degrees on his board. He is known for his shock of red hair, for which he has become known as "Animal" and "The Flying Tomato".

Personal life

White was born with a Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect for which he endured two open-heart operations before the age of one. He stands 5'8" (1.73 m) tall. He spent his formative years riding Okemo Mountain and Bear Mountain, small ski resorts found in Ludlow, Vermont, and the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California.

Addressing his perception of the nickname "The Flying Tomato", paneramagazine wrote, "he used to embrace it, even wearing headbands with a flying-tomato logo, but he has grown tired of it."

In February 2009, Red Bull built White a halfpipe completely out of natural snow in the back country of Colorado on the backside of Silverton Mountain.

Snowboarding career

Following in his older brother's foot steps, White switched from skiing to snowboarding at age six, and by age seven he received his first sponsorship. White has participated in two Winter Olympics in his career. At both the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the snowboard halfpipe event. White has also participated in the Winter X Games, where he has won a medal every year since 2002. Including all winter X Games competitions through 2009, his medal count stands at 15 (10 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), including the first four-peat winner by a male athlete in one discipline, the snowboard slopestyle. White's streak was snapped in 2007 when he lost to Andreas Wiig and Teddy Flandreau, with White taking the bronze. He won the Air & Style Contest in 2003 and 2004.

2006 Winter Olympics

See also: Snowboarding at the 2006 Winter Olympics and 2006 Winter Olympics

At the 2006 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the halfpipe. After his first run in qualifications, White was almost out of competition, scoring only 37.7. On his second run, he recorded a score of 45.3. In the finals, White recorded a score of 46.8 (50 is the highest possible score) to win. Fellow American Danny Kass won the silver with a points total of 44.0.

2008

Executing a near-flawless second run, White captured his third consecutive snowboard halfpipe title at the 2008 U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships to go along with his third US Open slopestyle competition. This followed White's win at the 25th (2007) Burton US Open, where he placed third in slopestlyle and first in the halfpipe. At the 2007 Open, White was also crowned the first "Burton Global Open Champion". His take for the event was $100,000 (Global Open Champ), $20,000 (1st Place Halfpipe), $90,000 (3rd Place Slopestyle), and a new Corvette

2009

There was a lot of controversy over who won the 2009 SuperPipe at Winter X Games XIII. Kevin Pearce had 5 hits in the pipe, and all were the same tricks White did in his final run. White, on the other hand, had 6 hits and he started off his run with a big backside rodeo 540 where Pearce started his run off with a big grab. Although Pearce went bigger, he only had 5 hits, and his first hit wasn't as technical as White's first hit. Judges came to the conclusion that White deserved the better score because he started off with a more technical trick and he had 1 more hit than Pearce. With the win, White became the second competitor, after Tanner Hall, to win a gold medal in the superpipe in consecutive years at the Winter X Games. He also won a gold medal in Slopestyle, finally winning gold after 2 straight years of bronze.

On February 14, 2009, White won the FIS World Cup Men's Halfpipe event at Vancouver's Cypress Mountain. Out of the gate in his first qualifying run, he qualified immediately with the day's best score of 45.5. With a thumb sprained on an over-rotated backside 1080 in the second qualifying run, he clinched the event with the first of his two runs in the finals. His first finals run was awarded the highest score ever in FIS halfpipe, a 47.3.

2010 Winter Olympics

See also: Snowboarding at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Olympics

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, White again won gold in the halfpipe. In the finals, White recorded a score of 46.8 on his first run, which proved a high enough score to secure the gold medal without a second run. He performed his second run anyway, as a victory lap, ending his run with a well-anticipated Double McTwist 1260 which he named The Tomahawk. This second run resulted in a record score of 48.4 (50 is the highest possible score) enlarging his margin of victory. His nearest competitor won the silver with a points total of 45.0, 3.4 behind White.

Skateboarding Career

Shaun White's skateboard career took place during the same time he was rising thru the snowboard ranks. White quickly drew the eyes of many in the skateboarder scene including Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. At this point Hawk befriended the nine-year-old White at a local skatepark and mentored the up-and-comer, helping him turn pro in skateboarding at the age of 17. White has gone on to win many titles on his skateboard most notable winning the overall title and prestigious honor of Action Sports Tour Champion thanks to his impressive skills in skateboarding vert as well as being the first person to compete in and win both the Summer and Winter X Games in two different sports.

Athletic achievements

• In 2003 White was the first to compete and medal in both the Summer and Winter X Games in two different sports.
• White is the first snowboarder ever to land back to back double corks, at the Red Bull superpipe.
• He remains the only skater to land the body varial frontside 540 (The Armadillo).
• He was the first to land a Cab 7 Melon Grab in vert skateboarding.
• He is the first snowboarder to win back-to-back gold medals in the Winter X-Games Superpipe.
• He is the first (and only) person to win both a Summer and Winter Dew Cup.
• White is the first to "three-peat" in SuperPipe at the Winter X Games.
• Shaun White holds the record for the highest score in the men's halfpipe at the winter olympics. In 2006, his 46.8 points bested Ross Powers' previous record of 46.1 from 2002. In 2010, during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he improved his own record with 48.4 points in his final run.

Non-competition awards and accolades

• White was named the "chairman of snowboarding" on the Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007.
• In the March 2009 issue of Snowboarder Magazine, he was named the ninth-best snowboarder in the World.
• He won the Revolver Golden Gods Award for "Most Metal Athlete".
• White has been named Transworld Snowboarding's Rider Of The Year twice.

Endorsements

White has had a sponsor since he was seven years old. Corporate endorsement deals include have included Burton Snowboards, Oakley, Inc., Birdhouse Skateboards, Park City Mountain Resort, Target Corporation, Red Bull, Ubisoft, Adio and Hewlett-Packard. White also has his own character on the game Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder as well as the video game Shaun White Snowboarding. In 2009, Forbes magazine estimated that he had earned $9 million from his endorsements in 2008.

Media appearances

• He had his first published interview in TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine in 2003.
• White starred in the 2005 snowboarding documentary First Descent.
• White was one of the few pro snowboarders to be a guest editor of Snowboarder Magazine (February 2008 issue).
• The 2008 video game Shaun White Snowboarding is named after him, and the game was personally played and demonstrated by him at Nintendo's E3 2008 Press Conference.
• A film, Don't Look Down has been released on DVD and ESPN. The film tracks his journey through the year following his Olympic success.
• White was on the cover for The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition.
• White appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, March 2, 2010, recounting the story of how his mother had his first Olympic gold medal dry cleaned.

External links

• Shaun White at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
• Official Site of Shaun White
• Red Bull's Secret Halfpipe — New Tricks
• TTR World Snowboard Tour Rider Profile (current standings in the world ranking with contest results)
• TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine — coverage of White from age 14 on
• Snowboardermag.com — interviews and videos
• Shaun White at IMDb
• Shaun White's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• AP Winter Games Athlete Profile: Shaun White
• AP: White's showstopper caps second Olympic gold
• AP: Inside the Rings: Shaun White blazes trails