Ski legend Sean White: I’m a big fan of China, thank Beijing for hosting the Winter Olympics

Sean White is the “Three Gold Kings” of the Winter Olympics.

Lax, Switzerland, the last stop before the Beijing Winter Olympics, the U-shaped field skills World Cup competition for snowboards was held here. Without a doubt, Sean White is the biggest star. From the preliminaries onwards, the entire summit erupted into cheers whenever the live DJ read the snowboard legend’s name.

In the final on the 15th, White ranked third, which was his first podium since the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Although the results are not as dazzling as in the peak period, it is enough for him to lock a ticket to the Beijing Winter Olympics.

In Chongli in February, White will start his fifth Winter Olympics journey at the “senior age” of 35. At that time, he will be the oldest Olympian in the history of the event.

Sean White wins gold at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

“For so long, the whole world has been under the shadow of the epidemic. Fortunately, we still have the Olympics, which is an amazing thing.” White said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.

“For a veteran like me, there is really not much left in my career. If the Winter Olympics are postponed for a year, maybe I may not be able to participate. So I am very grateful to China and the Olympic family, in such a difficult time. We can still host the Winter Olympics at the same time,” White said.

Competitively, White is without a doubt one of the greatest snowboarders in history. In the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, he won the U-shaped venue championship, which made him one of the limelight.

In the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, White missed the podium, which made people think that his era was over, but the “Flying Tomato” staged the return of the king in Pyeongchang four years later, winning the individual with a “senior age” of 31 years. The third Olympic gold medal shook the world.

In addition to his achievements on the field, White spared no effort to promote snowboarding off the field, especially in China. In 2010, the “Boiling Snow” event landed in China. As the owner of the event, White also had more opportunities to come here and forged a deep relationship with Beijing.

“In 2008, when I was still very young, I saw the Beijing Olympics on TV and I was attracted. I am a ‘hardcore fan’ of China and I am very familiar with the city of Beijing. To be able to return to Beijing again, And as an athlete, I’m very excited.”

White said, “Snowboarding was a very trendy sport in China before, but it has developed rapidly in recent years, not only because of the talents displayed by the athletes on the field, but also more and more ordinary enthusiasts and fans. I started to love this sport. I hope I can go to China often after the Winter Olympics.”

When he was young, White had bright long hair and was called “Flying Tomato”.

There was a small detail in the interview that day. After the reporter said that he was Chinese, White immediately said “hello” in Chinese excitedly, and then took the initiative to say that he couldn’t wait to go to Beijing to participate in the Winter Olympics.

In fact, before coming to Lacks, White’s trip to the Beijing Winter Olympics was once questioned – at Mammoth Mountain a week ago, White announced after the qualifiers that he was unwell and gave up the finals, and he also announced that he was in the finals last year. Infected with the new crown in December.

But all doubts vanished when White finally took to the slopes of the Lax race.

“I’m lucky that the coronavirus didn’t affect me for long. I’m feeling better now, although not at my best. If I could have had more time to train and prepare, maybe I could have won the title today. But Next, it’s the Winter Olympics,” White said.

The US team has a total of 4 places to participate in the men’s veneer U-shaped court skills competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and White currently ranks fourth among all American players. The U.S. national team coaches will meet on the 17th to discuss the final U.S. team roster. Regardless of world rankings or personal influence, White is almost certain to lock in a spot.

In an earlier interview with the American media, White had made it clear that this would be his last Winter Olympics. We will wait and see what kind of Olympic curtain call “Flying Tomato” will bring to the Chongli Genting Arena in February.