Snowboarding

Shaun White Clinches Trip to Sochi

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Shaun White, Sage Kotsenberg, and Kyle Mack finish top 3 at Mammoth Grand Prix Slope Final #2 where White clinched a spot on the first-ever U.S. Olympic snowboard slopestyle team. Photo: Action Sports Daily

Olympic halfpipe champion Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) mathematically clinched a spot on the first-ever U.S. Olympic team for slopestyle snowboarding on Thursday at the Paul Mitchell Slopestyle at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix. White crashed hard in Thursday’s earlier competition and was down for nearly five minutes before he rode away. He then managed to refocus and put down a show-stopping run two hours later, posting a massive score and securing his spot on the Olympic team. Three-time X Games champion Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, CA) won the women’s competition, going two for two during Thursday’s slopestyle snowboarding doubleheader. White and the other athletes are set to compete in a halfpipe snowboarding doubleheader Friday. Tune into ussnowboarding.com for a live stream of the action starting at 12:30 p.m. EST.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Olympic halfpipe champion Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) mathematically clinched a spot on the first-ever U.S. Olympic team for slopestyle snowboarding on Thursday at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain.
  • Three-time X Games champion Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, CA) won the women’s competition, going two for two during Thursday’s slopestyle snowboarding doubleheader. Anderson mathematically clinched her spot in Thursday’s earlier qualifier, but further secured her spot with her second victory.
  • Thursday featured two slopestyle Olympic qualifiers after the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Breckenridge was canceled last week because of challenging weather conditions.
  • White crashed hard in the first of two runs during Thursday’s first qualifier event, and he was down for five minutes before he rode off under his own power. He came back in the second run but couldn’t put his run to his feet.
  • Just two hours later he managed to refocus and put down a show-stopping run, posting a massive score and becoming the first American man to clinch a spot on the team for the Olympic debut of slopestyle snowboarding.
  • Sage Kotsenberg (Park City, UT) took second with Kyle Mack (West Bloomfield, MI) third and Ryan Stassel (Anchorage) in fourth.
  • Jordie Karlinski (Snowmass, CO) sealed a second place finish for the women with Jessika Jenson (Rigby, ID) third and Ty Walker (Stowe, VT) fourth. Walker also endured a violent crash during her second run, when she skidded into the fencing, became tangled and slammed down hard, breaking her helmet in half.
  • The slopestyle snowboarding debut will open the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, with the qualification round a day prior to the opening ceremony and finals the day after the opening.
  • Saturday’s slopestyle will be the last chance for the athletes to meet the objective criteria for Olympic qualification.
  • Shaun White and other halfpipe athletes are set to compete in a halfpipe snowboarding doubleheader Friday, when they will battle for Olympic spots at the third and fourth Olympic qualifier events.
  • Tune into ussnowboarding.com for a live stream of the halfpipe action starting at 12:30 p.m. EST, and then tune into NBCSN for a special live broadcast of the fourth halfpipe qualification event at 4:00 p.m. EST Friday.

Via USSnowboarding.com