Two-time, half-pipe gold medalist Shaun White did not receive a medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The fan favorite came in fourth in the men's half-pipe and dropped out of the new event, slopestyle. The guy everyone thought would win became one of Sochi's biggest disappointments.
Shaun White went into the Olympics expected to compete in his usual men's half-pipe competition, and the new men's slopestyle competition. Slopestyle is a freestyle competition for snowboarders and skiers where tricks in the air and on rails and boxes are performed (http://snowboarding.about.com). Slopestyle is not timed and judges give points based on style and difficulty of the performance. Half-pipe is a very long U-shaped terrain used also by freestyle snowboarders and skiers to perform tricks and aerial stunts. Shortly after arriving in Sochi, White dropped out of slopestyle due to safety concerns as he believed he had a better chance of getting a medal if he only performed in the half-pipe competition; he was wrong.
White was ultimately beat by a Swiss rider, Iouri "iPod" Podladtchikov, and his "YOLO" trick. White performed unusually sloppy and had a few unsteady landings. Shaun White's leaving Sochi without a medal was one of the biggest disappointments in the 2014 Olympic games.
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