Shaun White says he’ll skip skateboard, stick to snow

If world sees Shaun White at an Olympics again, it will be in 2022, t later this year.

three-time swboarding champion told Associated Press that he is taking skateboarding off his plate and won’t try to qualify for that sport’s Olympic debut later this year in Tokyo.

“ decision became less about going for skate and more about, am I willing to walk away from sw?” White said this weekend while attending Burton U.S. Open. “It just was going in that direction, and I didn’t feel comfortable with it and I can’t wholeheartedly choose this path with what I’ve got going on sw.”

White, who for years was every bit as successful a skateboarder as a swboarder, h been dangling possibility of joining rare group of athletes to compete in both Winter and Summer Games.

He has long excelled in vert contests, which most resemble a swboard halfpipe competition, but is t part of Olympic program. He was trying to make switch to park, which combine halfpipes and quarterpipes with stairs and rails. White heed to Brazil last summer to compete at skateboarding world championships, where he finished 13th.

He thought about it for a while and realized work he’d have to put in to compete against full-time skateboarders for an Olympic spot would compromise his chances of returning to Winter Games in Beijing for a shot at a fourth gold medal.

“It doesn’t mean I’m committed to going to China, but it doesn’t feel too far-fetched for me,” said 33-year-old White. “I still feel great and that’s where it got left for me. I’m dipping back into sw, and doing what feels right.”

 (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)