February 17, 2010 Shaun White came into Vancouver Winter Games as the defending gold medalist in the halfpipe, having won for the U.S. in Turin, Italy, in 2006. He was the face of snowboarding in the U.S. and he didn't disappoint.
In the finals, White recorded a score of 46.8 on his first run, which proved a high enough score to secure the gold medal without a second run. But he wanted to put on a great show and run it anyway. He ended his run with his highly anticipated new trick: The Double McTwist 1260 which he named The Tomahawk. Watch his runs here:
White showed off the trick prior to the Olympics. Here is another look at it:
He scored even higher on that run with 48.4 out of 50. His nearest competitor won the silver with a points total of 45.0.
It was an incredible performance by White and won that will forever live in Olympic lore. Here's to you, Shaun White and the day you won gold in Vancouver.
