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Shaun White

sports Maturity 7-9 Next article →

Shaun White is a famous American athlete who mastered both snowboarding and skateboarding. He is best known for his incredible skills in the half-pipe, which is a large U-shaped ramp made of snow. White has won three Olympic gold medals in this specific event. He also holds the world record for the most gold medals won by a snowboarder at the Olympics. Beyond the Olympics, he has won many gold medals at the X Games. He even became the first person to score a perfect 100 in a men's SuperPipe contest in 2012.

Shaun White 27913015 (cropped)
Shaun White 27913015 (cropped)

Watching White compete is a display of great skill and daring. In the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he performed a move called the Double McTwist 1260. He gave this trick a special name, "The Tomahawk." He used this move to earn a record score of 48.4 out of 50. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, he won gold by performing back-to-back 1440s. This was a very dramatic way to win his third gold medal. Even after a bad crash in New Zealand that required 62 stitches, he kept training to make the U.S. Olympic Team.

Shaun White 27913015 (cropped)
Shaun White 27913015 (cropped)

White's journey started in San Diego, California. He was born in 1986 to parents Cathy and Roger. As a young child, he had a heart condition called tetralogy of Fallot. He had to have two open-heart operations before he was one year old. His family spent time riding in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. They would sometimes stay in a van in the parking lots of resorts. This early time in the mountains helped him learn to ride.

Shaun White 27913015 (cropped)
Shaun White 27913015 (cropped)

His professional career grew through hard work and famous mentors. A legendary skateboarder named Tony Hawk became his friend when White was nine. Hawk helped him become a professional skateboarder at age 16. White also switched from skiing to snowboarding when he was six years old. By age seven, he already had his first sponsorship. He has competed in five different Winter Olympics during his long career. He has also won ten ESPY Awards for his many different achievements.

RichardBransonShaunWhiteApr09
RichardBransonShaunWhiteApr09

Today, White does many things outside of professional sports competitions. He plays guitar in an electronic rock band called the Bad Things. He also started his own snowboarding league called "The Snow League" in 2025. He wants this league to help riders make a good living. He wants them to move from amateur to pro like other major sports. White also has his own brand called Whitespace and several video games. He even owns parts of ski areas like Mammoth Mountain.

RichardBransonShaunWhiteApr09
RichardBransonShaunWhiteApr09
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