Shaun White's last ride and the long journey to get there

After contracting COVID-19 and securing qualification in the last event in January, Shaun White needed to stick his last run. He did, with a score that put him in the top four going into Thursday's finals.

"I have to call my mom. She's going to be like, 'You do this every time,'" White, 35, chuckled afterward. "I feel the relief of being able to have my moment in the big finals, you know?"

The American wasn't planning for this kind of drama when he announced the Beijing Olympics would be his last competition over the weekend. But after falling halfway through his first run, the final chapter of a glittering career hinged on sticking one last hit down the halfpipe. And, true to his iconic status, he came up big. 

"He's the most clutch guy ever, I had no doubt," said United States teammate Taylor Gold, who also qualified for the final.

For someone who has tested the boundaries of the sport, White surely found the hard way to make his fifth and last Olympic final.

"Every Olympics has its own path, its own journey," White told DW. "Sometimes it's easier than others and sometimes it's harder, and this one has definitely been more challenging."

White's journey to the Olympics

After securing his third halfpipe gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, White tried to live a different Olympic dream. He put down the snowboard and tried to qualify for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo in skateboarding.

"I was right into it, I was doing my thing, doing competitions," White told DW last month. "Somewhere along the road it seemed like it was going to be a lot harder than I thought. At that point, the decision wasn't to pursue skating, it was like: Am I willing to walk away from snowboarding?"

So back to the slopes he went, but due to "COVID and craziness," he didn't ride his first competition until March 2021, three years after his Pyeongchang gold. His first Olympic qualifier in Aspen didn't go well, and he admitted that he was "nervous and kind of fell apart."

After contracting COVID-19 himself, the 35-year-old pulled out of the final at a snowboard event in California with an ankle injury. Without enough points in the World Cup season to make the team, people began to wonder whether White would even feature on the Olympic stage one last time.

But he's the "most clutch guy ever," remember? With one final chance to qualify in Switzerland, White landed his first run, celebrating with the fans immediately afterward as if he knew that was the hit that would get him back to the Olympics. His score was good enough to put him on the podium, a critical result to get him on the team. 

"To come here to hit the podium with the other guys and feel that momentum building is really, really great," the veteran snowboarder told DW after the event. 

White's final Olympic moment

But the process he went through was also a sign that the end was near.

"I was discouraged, where I was thinking, 'Wow, well, can I get there? Will it be?' You know, putting a lot of pressure on it. And that's when I kind of decided this is my last go," White told reporters on Wednesday.

"All these things coming up, I just took it as a sign that this would be amazing last run. So that pressure kind of turned into something else, turned into an appreciation tour." 

After securing his spot in Thursday's final, White will enjoy the most freedom in the halfpipe since he returned to snowboarding — no more worrying about qualification, no more getting to the next round. 

"For [qualification], I want to do just enough to get in, but not show everything so the judge is still excited. It's two runs, anything can happen," White said.

"But finals is three runs, so it's a little more padded, it's a little more relaxed and you can kind of play with it."

He has promised something big, and said that he "wouldn't hold back." His competition will be fierce, with Pyeongchang silver medalist Ayumu Hirano of Japan and Australian bronze medalist Scott James in top form. Hirano leads the World Cup standings, while James took gold in last month's X Games.

But it's Shaun White, the "most clutch guy ever."

Edited by: James Thorogood