The Paper's reporter Chen Jun
The years have carved marks on Sean White's face.
On February 5, the U.S. snowboard team held a press conference at the Zhangjiakou Mountain News Center, and Sean White, 36, said: "The Beijing Winter Olympics will be the last competition I will participate in. ”
If there is anyone who has the best snowboarding history (goat), the answer can only be - the Olympic "three gold kings" Sean White.
In the men's U-shaped track skill final on snowboarding on the 11th, Sean White finished fourth, ending his career.
The ending may not be perfect, but the oldest player in the history of the Winter Olympics has no need to prove it - looking back at his five-time Winter Olympics journey, there is only the word legend.
And when he finished the final jump, the audience applauded thunderously, and Sean White also shed tears...
At the age of 20, Sean White Won the Winter Olympics in Turin.
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Because of his long flowing red hair as a teenager, Sean White had a nickname – Flying Tomato.
In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, the 20-year-old White stood on the highest podium of the Turin Winter Olympics; 4 years later, at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, he successfully defended his title; in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, White won the fourth place, when the outside world thought that the champion had gone off the altar, in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, White returned to his familiar position again, winning his third Olympic gold medal.
Jamie Nichols, who is also a snowboard Olympian, said of White, "Compared to the techniques shown by others, he is always able to control the body very well, the movements are always clean and clean, leaving no traces, and he has the perfect explosive power to make the body slide to the top." ”
Sports writer Alesia Ronnick was even more amazed by White's versatility, "After the Sochi Winter Olympics, he began to devote himself to music, which was where he felt comfortable, he went on a tour with the band and stopped practicing skiing. I thought he was going to say goodbye, but when I saw him again, he was still so awesome. ”
Sean White galloped at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Snowboarding, it seems, is just one of many personal hobbies for White, and he will occasionally get bored, but as long as he still wants to win, everything will be back on track.
White is personally excited about his long reign in the snowboarding field, but his motivation for success is not entirely his own, "In retrospect, I hated high altitude and cold, I grew up by the sea, I had asthma as a child, and there were many things in my life that distracted you, but it wasn't just for myself – I wanted my opponents, fans and sponsors to know that my success wasn't accidental." ”
White loves the feeling of winning, likes to be admired by thousands of people, and he once described the pleasure of achieving his goal, "Although the person is there, the soul and the body seem to be separated." ”
Pyeongchang won the gold, and the whole world was shocked.
At that moment, I realized it was time for me to retire
In order to continue to chase this feeling, White has not stopped, and in the anticipation of the Beijing Winter Olympics, only this time he himself felt somewhat overwhelmed.
"I like to be in the spotlight, this is my fifth trip to the Winter Olympics, and I sometimes really want to pinch myself to make sure that at my age, I can still stand on the stage of the Winter Olympics." 」
"You know, I had an injury last year and I had surgery on my knee last summer. I hurt my back again during training..." White counted his scarred body before the Winter Olympics.
"For a veteran like me, there's not much time I can wait for. So I am very grateful to China, to the Olympic family, for hosting the Winter Olympics at such a difficult time. "In a way, White can now accept any ending very calmly.
"One day I was training on a cable car, and I was looking at the majestic mountain, there was no one around, it was quiet, the sunset was shooting from afar, and it was that moment, I realized that it was time, it was time for me to retire."
"At that time, I tried to think back to the little bits and pieces of the past, watching the sunset, and when I go here again, I can easily not have the pressure of competition, but enjoy the moment and enjoy a vacation." 」
Sean White is also a master of music.
I am a "die-hard fan" in China
Using such poetic language to outline the state of mind when he made his retirement decision, White really enjoyed the final game.
On this trip to Beijing, he has always been full of enthusiasm for China, and when he meets Chinese journalists, he often uses Chinese to say "hello" at the first time.
After coming to the Winter Olympics, he also talked about Chinese traditions with the Chinese media very familiarly, "This year is the Year of the Tiger, and the tiger is very similar to my personality, very strong and competitive. “
White's relationship with China is also based on his long-term promotion of snowboarding around the world - in 2010, the "Boiling Snow" event landed in China, and as the owner of the event, White had more opportunities to come to China.
Sean White came to China for skiing.
"In 2008, when I was very young, I saw the Beijing Olympics on TV and was attracted. I am a 'die-hard fan' of China and am very familiar with the city of Beijing. ”
In White's mind, there is probably nothing more gratifying in white's mind to be able to use the Beijing Winter Olympics as the last stop of his career, "I am very excited to return to China again, and still as an athlete." ”
Editor-in-Charge: Ascendas