Sticking with snowboarding: Shaun White’s skipping Summer Olympics as skateboarder

FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2019, file photo, Shaun White competes during the Skate Park World Championship in Sao Paulo, Brazil. If the world sees Shaun White at an Olympics again, it will be in 2022, not later this year. The three-time snowboarding champion told The Associated Press that he is taking skateboarding off his plate and won’t try to qualify for that sport’s Olympic debut later this year in Tokyo.

Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner

Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner

FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2019, file photo, Shaun White competes during the Skate Park World Championship in Sao Paulo, Brazil. If the world sees Shaun White at an Olympics again, it will be in 2022, not later this year. The three-time snowboarding champion told The Associated Press that he is taking skateboarding off his plate and won’t try to qualify for that sport’s Olympic debut later this year in Tokyo.
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By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
March 2, 2020
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Shaun White is skipping the Olympics this summer, but don’t worry, you should be able to see him in his natural habitat in a few years.

The three-time snowboard gold medal winner was going to try his hand, or feet, at skateboarding when the sport makes its Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games. But he recently said he’s not ready to forgo the snow.

"The decision became less about going for skate and more about, am I willing to walk away from the snow?" White said, according to The Associated Press. "It just was going in that direction, and I didn't feel comfortable with it and I can't wholeheartedly choose this path with what I've got going on snow."

White has, in the past, competed in vertical skateboarding contests that are similar to snowboard halfpipe runs. Vert contests are not part of the Olympic debut of skateboarding. The closest translation is park, which puts halfpipes and quarterpipes in with stairs and rails.

Skateboard legend Tony Hawk and White were friends when the latter was only 10. By 17, he was a professional skateboarder and was the first athlete to not only compete but also win the Summer and Winter X Games, The Washington Post reported.

White, who is used placing high in the rankings at competitions, finished 13th at the skateboarding world championships in Brazil last year.

He was afraid of the impact training would have on his chance of returning to the Winter Games that will be held in Beijing in 2022, the AP reported.

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About the Author

Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk