Shaun White only has snow on his mind. The 33-year-old told the Associated Press on Saturday that he does not play on trying to qualify for the skateboarding event in this year's Olympics in Tokyo, and will instead dedicate his time to snowboarding.
"The decision became less about going for skate and more about, am I willing to walk away from snow?" White told the AP. "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."
It's a justified concern given that snowboarding is the sport where he has won three Olympic gold medals. While he was known for simultaneously being an elite snowboarder and skateboarder, the style of skateboarding that will be in the Tokyo Games this summer is not what he specializes in. White is best known for skateboarding vert contests, which are set up similarly to snowboarding halfpipe events.
The Olympic competition will be a park contest, meaning each athlete will skate throughout an area containing halfpipes, quarterpipes, stairs and rails -- think the setting of your average skate video. White has not anywhere near as much success in that discipline of the sport. He competed in the Skateboard Park World Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil last September, but ended up finishing 13th overall.
White's Olympic career includes earning gold medals in 2006, 2010 and 2018, and a fourth-place finish in 2012.
