Shaun White Wins Gold

Shaun White Wins Gold on the Olympic Half-pipe.

It’s official – Shaun White wins gold. The US snowboarder, nicknamed the Flying Tomato, was the clear favorite coming into the snowboarding halfpipe event at the 2010 Winter Olympics and he didn’t disappoint. The most famous athlete in the sport laid down an epic first run to become the new Olympic champion.

He dominated a quality field for the win. Halfpipe at the Olympics involves two runs, with each rider’s final score being the best of the two. White was in top spot after his first run, with a score of 46.8. By the time he pushed off for his second run, he already had the gold medal in the bag based on the strength of his first score, meaning his second run was irrelevant.

This isn’t the first time Shaun White has won Olympic gold in this event. He was the defending champion after taking the top prize at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. Today’s result, along with his continuing dominance at the X Games and other snowboarding events, just cements his reputation as the best halfpipe boarder of all time.