Shaun White isn't messing around. Cases in point: his awesome commercial during the Super Bowl and his performance in Monday night's qualifying round for the men's halfpipe final. The gold medal favorite thew down the top run and looks primed to soar to his third Olympic gold medal after coming home empty-handed from Sochi.
Want to know when the "Flying Tomato" flying onto your TV screen at these 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics? Don't worry, we've got you covered with everything you need to know about Shaun White's bid at a third Olympic medal in his fourth Olympics, including when he's competing Tuesday night and what he's been up to since the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
And by the way, did you catch that great ?
Here's everything you need to know to follow White's journey in Pyeongchang:
How to watch Shaun White in the halfpipe at the Olympics
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 13
Event: Men's gold medal final
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Stream: fuboTV (try for free).
NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app will combine to present more than 1,800 hours of streaming coverage, including live streaming of all NBC network Primetime broadcasts. The NBC Sports App will present live streamed and on-demand coverage of all competition across all 15 sports and 102 medal events. You can also stream all of NBC's coverage on fuboTV (try for free).
You can also catch eight different episodes of Shaun White's journey to the Olympics, with a look at the snowboarder's strategy for Pyeongchang, on Yahoo! Sports.
Wait, but who is Shaun White again?
You mean besides a red-carpet camera magnet?
Shaun White is one of the most prominent faces of Team USA snowboarding, having captured a record 15 gold medals at the X Games and Winter X Games, including two for men's skateboarding, to go with his two gold medals at the Winter Olympics.
What all did he accomplish at the Olympics?
A lot. A San Diego native who made his Olympic debut at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy, he captured gold in the men's halfpipe, then repeated the feat in 2010 at the Vancouver Olympics. Both times, he set records with his halfpipe scores, first besting a 2002 record in Italy with a 46.8-point run and then beating his own mark with a 48.4-point feat four years later.
White also appeared at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where he finished fourth in the halfpipe while battling various injuries and pulling out the slopestyle competition at the last minute.
What about the X Games?
They have been his specialty. In between and even before his Winter Games participation, White tallied at least 10 different gold medals at the X Games in Aspen and Los Angeles, finishing first in vert skateboarding and topping competition in superpipe and slopestyle events during the Winter X Games.
In 2003, his competition -- and medal placement -- in both the regular and Winter X Games, for two different sports, made him the first athlete to ever do so.
Didn't he used to have a popular nickname?
See, you know more than you think! Yes, White did have a unique alter ego early in his surge into the Olympic spotlight, and that nickname was almost exclusively created because of his hair, which was, at the time, long, curly and bright red.
He was "The Flying Tomato." And White himself embraced the name, going as far as creating merchandise for it, until he apparently got sick of the moniker circa 2010.
How is he doing these days?
Great question, because a few short months ago, White wasn't doing very well at all, and it had nothing to do with his short hair and lack of a nickname.
The two-time Olympic medalist, in fact, almost saw his shot at a fourth Olympics wiped out when he crashed on a 22-foot superpipe in New Zealand during an October training session. The accident forced White to get 62 stitches in his face and even consider retirement, but it didn't prevent him from, three months later, clinching a return to the Olympics with a perfect 100-point qualifying run at the U.S. Grand Prix in Snowmass, Colo.
A PERFECT 💯!! @shaunwhite qualifies for his FOURTH #WinterOlympics as only he can. #BestOfUS pic.twitter.com/ATPv6J42mH
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) January 13, 2018
Now, with the PyeongChang Games right around the corner, our snowboarding hero is back in full health and, at age 31, touting a renewed love for the sport -- a revelation that he's "being inspired again."
What can we expect at the 2018 Games?
If his final qualifying run and quotes of revived passion are any indication, White is in for a rebound from his fourth-place Sochi finish, which he himself has acknowledged as disappointing.
One thing that's for sure, however, is that he will make for the most recognizable piece of Team USA's men's snowboarding team. He's the only halfpipe competitor among the men on the United States team who won't be making his Olympic debut.
