Shaun White | Beijing 2022 Olympic Profile
Five-time Olympian and three-time Gold Medalist Shaun White says he has his eyes on the prize heading into his fifth Olympic Games. White also explains how he has to treat his body differently now than he did when he was heading to his first Games in 2006.
Video Transcript
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SHAUN WHITE: Obviously, you know, I had my sights set on the Summer Olympics. I've always been an avid skateboarder, turned professional at 16 and was super excited about the opportunity of maybe doing a Summer Olympics. But with the pandemic that swept through, and the really tough decision of, am I ready to walk away from snowboarding yet. And I just wasn't. So obviously, switched gears, focused everything back to the winter sports.
And it's so exciting. I can't believe we're-- I'm even here doing this right now. Like, back at it again. But it feels really good to make that announcement, to be here with all my competitors and feeling solid, feeling a little seasoned, at this age. But I'm hanging in there. It's good. Will this is my last game? I don't know. I always say it might be just because that's how it feels. And then time kind of keeps moving on and I'm thinking, gosh, I feel pretty good. I'm motivated. I'm excited. And then, boom, I'm at the next Olympics. So I wouldn't count the next one out after this.
But yeah, I've definitely got my eye on the prize for this one. And I'm trying to keep it in that box. But I will admit, it is getting harder. I think at a certain point, I realized I was the oldest competitor in the field. And now I'm-- I heard it over the loudspeaker at the event. They're like, and dropping in the oldest competitor. I was like, oh. I was like looking around like, who are they talking about? I've been the youngest competitor as long as I can remember. But I wear it now as somewhat of a badge of honor in a sense.
Like you said, it's-- to be on top of a sport that's ever changing, and for this amount of time, it's just been a challenge. It's just been my life's work. And I'm so proud that I'm still able to compete on a high level. And I'm going to give it everything I have for this games, like I do every time, and see where the chips fall. But I will be honest, the body is definitely giving me, you know, little signs here and there that the age is a factor at times.
And I'll do probably less training days than the others. I'll start my day later. Maybe with a tea in the morning, something to get me going. No, honestly though, it's been a thing. It's something that I have to keep my eye on. And with that, there's just a shift that needs to happen. You know, like I mentioned, practicing differently, training differently, potentially working on my diet. How is my sleep? How is my time on the hill?
I don't really go for these crazy, long days anymore. I just show up. Ask anybody, I show up and it's like my power hour. I just show up and do every hard trick I can think of in my hour, hour and a half and then I'm out. Or I'll switch to the air bag and start working on something for the next day, for my next power hour or two on the mountain. But yeah, I would be-- I like being honest with everybody. It's refreshing. But yeah, I would be lying to say it hasn't been something that I've thought of recently a lot and have to make adjustments for, for sure.