2014 Sochi Olympics: Shaun White Pulls Out Of Slopestyle Event After Suffering Wrist Injury

After injuring his wrist during warm-up runs for the slopestyle event ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, USA champion Shaun White announced that he has removed himself from the new event due to the course being unusually harsh and 'a little intimidating.' Though he won't be dressed to represent Team USA in the snowboarding event, the former Olympic champion did note that he will still compete in the halfpipe, a competition he's won two Gold medals in prior to the 2014 games. Watching fellow competitors endure their fair share of problems with the track and suffering his own injury, White said this week that there is too much risk for him to take part in the slopestyle.

“With the practice runs I have taken, even after course modifications and watching fellow athletes get hurt, the potential risk of injury is a bit too much for me to gamble my other Olympics goals on,” White said in a statement. After much deliberation with my team, I have made the decision to focus solely on trying to bring home the third straight gold medal in halfpipe for Team USA. The difficult decision to forgo slopestyle is not one I take lightly as I know how much effort everyone has put into holding the slopestyle event for the first time in Olympic history, a history I had planned on being part of.”

White's injury comes as the 27-year-old is preparing to win his third Gold medal in the halfpipe event, an Olympic sport that has helped launched his image as one of the most successful United States Olympians in recent time. The most recent injury heightens the number of wounds the Olympic champion was hoping to overcome before the February 6 start of the 18-day Winter Games and even though one of the most popular figures won't be available to help christen a new event, Director of Snowboarding and Freeskiing for the USSA Jeremy Forster understands White's thought process.

“Shaun is the consummate professional and has made a sound athletic decision,” Forster said. “We anticipate an outstanding slopestyle debut on Saturday but also respect the importance to Shaun to keep his focus on winning a third halfpipe gold.”