Retiring snowboard legend White misses medal as Hirano wins halfpipe gold
Sports
Retiring American snowboard legend Shaun White missed out on a halfpipe medal at the Beijing Olympic
ZHANGJIAKOU (AFP) - Retiring American snowboard legend Shaun White missed out on a halfpipe medal at the Beijing Olympics on Friday in his final competition, finishing fourth, as Japan’s Ayumu Hirano claimed gold.
The 35-year-old White, who will retire after the Games, scored 85.00 points to finish off the podium, as Hirano took gold in front of Australia’s Scotty James and Switzerland’s Jan Scherrer.
Three-time champion White was in medal contention after completing his first two of three runs, but he fell when he needed to beat Scherrer’s score on his third and final run.
He looked subdued as he slid in to the finish area, and had tears in his eyes, before smiling and waving to the crowd.
Hirano snatched the title with an astonishing performance after trailing James going into the final run.
The twice silver-medallist wowed the crowd with a series of gravity-defying tricks to take a dramatic first place with a score of 96.00.
James, who won bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, finished second on 92.50 points, while Scherrer was third on 87.25.
