Hanging up his board. Ahead of Shaun White’s upcoming snowboarding events in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the athlete has confirmed his retirement.
“You know, for me, this has all had this amazing glow to every single decision, every single competition because I have decided this will be my last Olympics and with that, I’ve given it my all,” White, 35, told reporters during a Saturday, February 5, press conference. “There’s been some ups and downs along the way to get here but through all of that, I feel like I’ve gotten stronger [and] gotten better — and now, I’m with these amazing teammates and I’m just so excited about everything.”
He added at the time: “[I’m] just enjoying everything single moment and, I don’t know, I’ve done so much in the sport. … I’m always trying to push and progress and do the next biggest thing and try to pick up on what trends are happening within the sport and be ahead of the curve.”
White noted that he believes his Beijing appearance will be his last competition, but that doesn’t mean he’s letting go of his board just yet.
“I definitely don’t think I’ll be leaving the sport anytime soon,” the California native added. “I think the beautiful part about snowboarding is there’s still a life to be had within the sport outside of competition. … So, I’m excited for that next chapter.”
Before the Air + Style owner announced his competitive retirement, his girlfriend, Nina Dobrev, exclusively told Us Weekly how she would feel about her man stepping back from the Olympics after this year.
“I support him in whatever decision he makes, always,” the Vampire Diaries alum, 33, revealed to Us on Friday, February 4. “He’s the only one who could make those decisions. [He’s had] such an incredibly long and amazing, successful run of the sport. He knows when the time is to throw the hat in, and he’s decided that it’s now.”
While Dobrev is not able to support her love in person, whom she was first linked to in 2020, she’s cheering him on from home.
“We’ll be anxiously watching from home and cheering him on,” she added. “I’m very, very excited for him. I can’t wait. I taped [his event], so it’s at the house, and as soon as I get home, I’m gonna sit down with my girlfriends and we’re gonna catch up and watch.”
While the Fresh Vine Wine founder is an avid supporter of her love’s athletic prowess, White is equally enthusiastic when the pair can hit the slopes together.
“What’s been really great is she can snowboard really well because I’m not the best teacher,” White previously told Us in October 2021. “For some reason, I can do it, but I just have a really hard time explaining it how. I remember our first riding day together, I was like, ‘OK, I’m getting ready for her to be falling,’ and I zipped down the mountain and I turned around. I was like, ‘Oh gosh, I hope she’s OK.’ I’m sitting there for a minute and I was like, ‘Uh-oh. Do I unstrap and walk up? Maybe she fell. I’m the horrible guy that just took off.’ She had passed me during my run somehow. Going way faster than me. She was already waiting at the chairlifts.”
Throughout White’s professional career, he has gone to the Olympics five times, taking home three medals and earning his first gold trophy at the Turin 2006 Winter Games.