Snowboarder Shaun White was kept off the podium Thursday night at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.
The Associated Press reported that White finished fourth in the halfpipe, just as he did in Sochi last year.
His Olympic teammate Danny Davis won the gold for the second straight year in a row with a score of 93.66. Taku Hiraoka of Japan, who won the bronze in Sochi, came in second with a score of 92.33 and 2014 Olympic gold medalist Iouri Podladtchikov “iPod” placed third with an 89.
The Olympics were undoubtedly disappointing for White and these games, the first he has competed in since Russia, were supposed to wipe away some of those memories and remind us why he is the best at what he does. After a great first run though, his last two were less than stellar, which left him with a top score of 82.
Even though he did not win the halfpipe and even though we are witnessing younger riders come up now and dethrone the 28-year-old, he remains the best snowboarder of his era. And, as NBC News noted, has won every X Games halfpipe from 2008 through 2013. He did not compete in 2014.
His coach, Bud Keene may have put it best earlier this week when he spoke about White before the competition.
“His career is far from over, athletically,” Keene said. “He’s still, hands down, the best halfpipe rider in the world, and not by a small margin.”