Pete Thomas Outdoors

Shaun White withdraws from snowboard slopestyle at Sochi Olympics; does he deserve the criticism?

News item: Shaun White will miss the Olympics debut of snowboard slopestyle at the Sochi Games in Russia. White, 27, withdrew from the event Wednesday, a day after falling and jamming his wrist on a practice run. Many have criticized the course as being too dangerous and White implied on his Facebook page that he doesn’t want to risk his chance of winning a third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the halfpipe competition. (No American man has won the same event at three consecutive Winter Olympics.)

Reaction: This is an unpopular decision, but it’s Shaun White’s decision and one he obviously thought out carefully. It’s unfortunate because it diminishes the event, especially after so much hype, leaving it without snowboarding’s biggest star, and seemingly providing Canada’s Mark McMorris with a much easier path to victory.

White on Wedesday morning was being bashed on social media by other snowboarders and fans. Example (since deleted from Twitter), from snowboarder Sebastien Toutant: "Mr. White... It's easy to find excuses to pull out of a contest when you think you can't win..."

Is the criticism warranted? Probably to an extent. When an athlete commits to something of this magnitude, he or she should stay committed. Other snowboarders would have loved to have been in White's boots.

However, this course has fallen under criticism and White, who arrived in Sochi with plenty of dings, clearly is not comfortable trying to negotiate its daunting layout. If an athlete is not confident on a fast course with monstrous kickers, that’s a recipe for disaster. (See a POV run-through on the course, posted below.)

However, if White is pulling out just because he thinks he can't make the podium, he ought to be criticized for being selfish at the very least.

Veteran X Games commentator Sal Masekela tweeted, “Not surprised that Shaun White has dropped from Slopestyle. In my opinion, a successful 3rd gold medal in pipe cements his legacy.”

It will cement his legacy, but pulling out without a perfectly good reason–and only he knows the real reason–gives Shaun White critics more reason to dislike him.

To be sure, in hindsight, it would have been better for everyone if White had just skipped slopestyle in the first place.

–Top image shows part of a slopestyle course that has been criticized by some snowboarders as being too dangerous. Credit: FIS Freestyle Skiing. Video is a POV showing a run-through on the slopestyle course

Sibling snowboarders set new Gold standard; both qualify for Winter Olympics

When the Gold family clears space in the trophy room before next month's Winter Olympics, they had better clear two spaces—just in case.

That's because Taylor and Arielle Gold, brother and sister, are Russia-bound for the Sochi Games as members of the U.S. Olympic snowboard team.

Both Colorado athletes qualified during a marathon series of Sprint Grand Prix events over the weekend at Mammoth Mountain in California.

The Golds are not the first siblings to qualify for the Olympics, and will not be the only relatives participating at Sochi.

But this probably is the first time two Golds from the same family will be going for gold on the world's grandest sporting stage.

On Sunday, before learning she had made the team, 17-year-old Arielle declared, via Twitter, that it was an important day for two reasons: "Big day today … Broncos vs Patriots. Oh, and they're announcing the U.S. Olympic team. #BroncosNation"

The NFL's Denver Broncos then dispatched the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, and the Golds began making travel plans.

Arielle will join fellow first-time Olympian Kaitlyn Farrington, as well as veteran gold medalists Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter, on the women's halfpipe team.

Taylor, 20, qualified Friday with a third-place finish in the third qualifier at Mammoth. Afterward he tweeted, "I am officially qualified for the Olympics. Beyond stoked! Thanks everyone who has helped me along the way."

He'll join Shaun White, Greg Bretz, and Danny Davis on the men's halfpipe team. It'll be the first participation in the Olympics for the Gold siblings.

Neither will be favored to win a gold medal in events that figure to be dominated by athletes from the U.S. Clark is the favorite among the women, and White is favored to win his third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

However, anything is possible.

Arielle, who is known for taking chances and nailing big tricks, enjoyed a breakout year in 2012, when she won silver medals in the halfpipe and slopestyle disciplines at the World Junior Olympic Games in Austria.

Last year she won a bronze at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado, not far from the family home in Steamboat Springs. She also posted first-place finishes at the European Open and FIS World Championships.

Taylor, who posted a victory at the 2013 U.S. Revolution Tour and qualified for the Olympic team with consistent elite-level performances, seems to be coming into his own this winter. To be sure, the world will get to know both Golds a lot better in the coming weeks.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Snow

–Photos: Top image showing Taylor Gold is by Sarah Brunson/U.S. Snowboarding. Arielle Gold and Taylor Gold mug shots are via Facebook

Lindsey Vonn's newest best friend is a rescue dog named Leo

A day after announcing that she would not be competing in the Winter Olympics next month because of a lingering knee injury, downhill skier Lindsey Vonn on Wednesday announced that she has adopted a rescue dog who also is recovering from a leg injury.

Vonn posted the news on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, each with a different photo of "Leo," and with the hashtag #bumkneebuddies."

She explained that Leo, who is 9 months old, had been struck by a car as a puppy.

On Facebook Vonn wrote: "This definitely brightened my day–I adopted this 9 month old cutie from an animal shelter.

"He has a bad knee from being hit by a car when he was a puppy and no one wanted him... but I do!! I encourage anyone looking for an animal to adopt from a shelter and save a life! #bumkneebuddies."

On Twitter: Leo brightened my day-adopted him from an animal shelter. Has a bum knee bc a car hit him #bumkneebuddies #puppylove pic.twitter.com/ctx6NFDdzd

Instagram: "I adopted Leo today from an animal shelter and he has cheered me up so much! He was hit by a car and has a bad knee. Maybe we can do rehab together! #meantforeachother #bumkneebuddies."

Here's hoping for a swift recovery for Vonn and her furry new sweetheart. Another gold medal performance, to be sure.

–Pete Thomas

–Top photo is courtesy of USSA. Second photo is via Lindsey Vonn's Facebook page

–Hat Tip to GrindTv

 

 

Shaun White buys Encinitas beach house for $3.85 million

Shaun White is the world's most successful pro snowboarder, with two Olympic halfpipe gold medals and multiple X Games medals as proof. He's also one of the world's top pro skateboarders.

But White, 26, also enjoys surfing, and to be closer to the waves he recently paid a reported $3.85 million for a 3,500-square-foot oceanfront home in Encinitas (North San Diego County).

The new surf pad, which sits on a bluff and features a private staircase leading to the beach, has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling ocean views and a wraparound deck with a fire pit.

Click on the TMZ or Daily Mail stories to view images of White's new digs. Or check out the video posted below to see White talking about his fondness of surfing.

Canada's Sarah Burke among Olympic Hall of Fame inductees

Sarah Burke, a star freeskier who died last January of head injuries suffered during a fall in the superpipe, is among athletes who will be inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame this summer.

Burke was one of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Assn.'s premier athletes, and the first female skier to land a 1080, or three full rotations above the superpipe.

She was instrumental in lobbying efforts to get women's freesking (superpipe and slopestyle) into the X Games and, more recently, the Olympics for their debut in 2014 at the Sochi Games in Russia.

In a news release announcing Hall of Fame inductees, Burke's mother, Jan Phelan, stated:

"Sarah was one of those extraordinary women who believed that anything was possible. I think that her belief not only helped her succeed, but inspired others to be the best that they could be. I know that Sarah would be happy that all she worked for and sought to achieve is being honored with her induction into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame."

Also being inducted, during a Sept. 21 ceremony in Toronto, are Olympic heroes Jean-Luc Brassard, Daniel Igali, Beckie Scott, the 2006 women's hockey team, 2010 men's hockey team, and longtime national synchronized swimming coach Julie Sauve.

Slopestyle snowboarding, skiing to debut at 2014 Olympics

For the world's top snowboarders, the announcement Monday that slopestyle competitions will be added to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, represented a welcome but long-overdue measure of acceptance.

For freeskiers, who three months ago learned that halfpipe skiing would debut at the same Olympics, the inclusion of slopestyle served to further underscore how popular their non-traditional, non-racing disciplines have become during the past few years.

Together, these edgier new-school athletes seem to be taking over the Winter Games.

"I'm thrilled that the IOC is embracing freeskiing in such a big way," said Simon Dumont, a dominant U.S. halfpipe specialist. "It's been incredible to watch the sport evolve so rapidly; it really shows how far we've come in such a short time."

The International Olympic Committee agreed during meetings in South Africa to approve men's and women's slopestyle as medal sports for snowboarding and skiing. Also added were men's and women's snowboard parallel special slalom.

The addition of slopestyle -- which entails negotiating a downhill course with jumps, rails and other terrain park features -- is a clear indication that the IOC is striving to ensure that the Olympics remain relevant among younger generations.

Said Bill Marolt, CEO of the United States Ski and Snowboard Assn.: "The IOC's decision to add slopestyle to the Olympics recognizes the millions of youth who are already participating in the sport in terrain parks around the world. It will have a very positive impact on the sport, including our U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing programs."

It also will make the Winter Olympics look more like the Winter X Games. The IOC reluctantly added snowboarding events -- halfpipe and giant slalom -- in 1998. The Winter Games now include skiing and snowboarding halfpipe; skiing and snowboarding slopestyle, skier-cross and boarder-cross. All six are longtime X Games mainstays.

Mascots for Sochi Olympics are leopard, polar bear and hare

Leopard, polar bear and hare on Saturday were selected as mascots for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

The selections were made after an all-Russian SMS-voting session, and announced during a  Channel One television program.

According to Ria Novosti, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had made it clear his preference was leopard  (see image).

Leopard received 28% of the votes. Polar bear and hare received 18% and 16%, respectively.

Fire Boy and Snowflake were selected mascots for the Paralympics.

-- Photo courtesy of the © Sochi-2014 press office

Jessica Watson, Abby Sunderland performing like Olympians

As much of the world huddles around TV sets each night to watch the planet's premier athletes perform at the Winter Olympics, two 16-year-old girls who are sailing around the planet by themselves on separate adventures, must be feeling pretty lonely with so much attention focused elsewhere.

Interestingly, Abby Sunderland, a Thousand Oaks, Calif., sailor who is in the Pacific close to the equator and headed south toward Cape Horn at South America's tip, is the second Sunderland to miss an Olympics during an around-the-world sail. Her older brother Zac was in the middle of some ocean or sea during the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.

Expect a video greeting to appear on Abby's blog soon. 

Australia's Jessica Watson, meanwhile, rounded Cape Horn several weeks ago and is nearing South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.

She left three months earlier than Abby and has sailed 14,000 miles. In a recent blog post she posted the accompanying photo of her stuffed animal companions, with the caption: "The crew were starting to smell a bit musty, so the skipper sent them outside for a bit of sunshine and fresh air!"

It's nice to see both girls, whose adventures were so harshly criticized, proceeding along admirably despite sometimes dreadful conditions, and keeping up their spirits up. When it comes to greatness, the Olympians have nothing on them.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo courtesy of Jessica Watson

Shaun White rises to top again; can a U.S. woman follow suit?

In case you missed it, I've attached a YouTube video showing Shaun White's "victory lap" in the halfpipe during the Olympics at Cypress Mountain. The Carlsbad athlete easily outclassed his opponents Wednesday night and earned his second Olympic gold medal with a first run nobody could come close to matching.

Now the questions for tonight's halfpipe finals? Will an American woman end up on the top podium spot? And can the U.S. squad sweep, which is something the men's team failed to accomplish?

Probably. And probably not. I'll go out on a limb and predict an order: Kelly Clark, Torah Bright (Australia) and Gretchen Bleiler. I don't think Hanah Teter, the defending Olympic champion, will top these three. She has had to many injuries and too little practice during the past year.

Bleiler, who won silver at the Turin Olympics in 2006, could easily win gold; and another dark horse--say, Elana Hight or China's Jiayu Liu--could make the podium--that's how close the top women are in terms of talent.

Clark, who won gold at Salt Lake City in 2002, goes bigger and has been the most consistent rider this past year. Bright is the best technical rider in the sport. And Bleiler, who thrives under this kind of spotlight, will post a high score. 

It ought to be fun to watch.

-- Pete Thomas

Rain could make a mess of Olympic events at Cypress Mountain

It finally snowed Wednesday on Vancouver's Cypress Mountain, to the delight of Olympics organizers as the Games begin Friday, and with several events scheduled at the Cypress Mountain venue over the coming days.

So there's a wintry landscape after all, amid and surrounding a venue that features predominantly trucked-in snow.

But the forecast is not good. It calls for rain and more rain. This from the Vancouver Sun:

"Environment Canada is calling for up to 20 millimeters of rain for Thursday followed by up to 30 mm Thursday night. Up to 15 mm is expected Friday followed by a downpour of up to 25 mm on Saturday.

"The women’s moguls are scheduled for Saturday night.

"In total, Environment Canada predicts up to 90 mm of rain will fall before Canadian Jenn Heil attempts to defend her gold medal from Turin on the picturesque course overlooking Howe Sound."

Rain will wreak havoc on not only the moguls course but the boarder-cross and skier-cross courses, and the snowboard halfpipe. Shaun White is sure to have more than a few bad-hair days, which he will overcome, of course, en route to a second consecutive Olympic gold-medal halfpipe performance.

-- Pete Thomas