A legendary career. Shaun White reflected on his snowboarding achievements after his final Olympic Games ended without a medal.
“I just want to thank everyone for watching. Everyone at home, thank you,” the California native, 35, told NBC after his event concluded at the 2022 Beijing games on Thursday, February 10. “Snowboarding, thank you. It’s been the love of my life.”
White, who finished in fourth place during the men’s halfpipe competition, noted his disappointment in his final score.
“I wanted more today, but I’ll take what I can get,” he tearfully told the outlet. “I’m proud. It’s been my life. Thank you, it’s been a journey.”
The professional athlete has competed in the Winter Olympics five times and has taken home three gold medals for halfpipe snowboarding, earning his first in Turin, Italy, in 2006. Earlier this month, White confirmed that he would be retiring after the tournament in China.
“You know, for me, this has all had this amazing glow to every single decision, every single competition because I have decided this will be my last Olympics and with that, I’ve given it my all,” he told reporters during a press conference. “There’s been some ups and downs along the way to get here but through all of that, I feel like I’ve gotten stronger [and] gotten better — and now, I’m with these amazing teammates and I’m just so excited about everything.”
The X Games champion continued: “[I’m] just enjoying everything single moment and, I don’t know, I’ve done so much in the sport. … I definitely don’t think I’ll be leaving the sport anytime soon. I think the beautiful part about snowboarding is there’s still a life to be had within the sport outside of competition. So, I’m excited for that next chapter.”
Ahead of the Air & Style founder’s final Olympic run, his girlfriend, Nina Dobrev, was excited to watch him compete.
“Did I mention I already won the gold with you,” the 33-year-old Vampire Diaries alum — who sported patriotic nail colors during her watch party and dressed the pair’s two dogs in Team USA gear — wrote via Instagram on Thursday. “Show em’ how it’s done, you fu#%ing stud 🇺🇸💥.”
The X Games champion continued: “[I’m] just enjoying everything single moment and, I don’t know, I’ve done so much in the sport. … I definitely don’t think I’ll be leaving the sport anytime soon. I think the beautiful part about snowboarding is there’s still a life to be had within the sport outside of competition. So, I’m excited for that next chapter.”
The couple began dating in 2020 and have been going strong ever since. Before cheering on White’s last Olympics bid, Dobrev exclusively told Us Weekly how she felt about him taking a break from the sport.
“I support him in whatever decision he makes, always,” she said one day before her beau announced his retirement. “He’s the only one who could make those decisions. [He’s had] such an incredibly long and amazing, successful run of the sport. He knows when the time is to throw the hat in, and he’s decided that it’s now.”
