Shaun White calls off Tokyo 2020 skateboarding dream

Shaun White's Tokyo 2020 skateboarding dream is over.

He is ending his bid to take part in the sport's Olympic Games debut at Tokyo 2020: the three-time Olympic champion in snowboard halfpipe says he will no longer attempt to qualify to compete in the Japanese capital.

And the 33-year-old is doing so in part to protect his chances of qualifying for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in his main sport.

Speaking to the Associated Press, he said: “The decision became less about going for skate and more about, am I willing to walk away from snow?”

Skateboard world championships

White attended the Park World Championships in São Paulo in September, but failed to make it out of the semi-finals where he was 13th.

Last July, he had said he would make a final call on trying to qualify for Tokyo following those World Championships.

Although White is a five-time X Games skateboard champion, those wins came in vert skateboarding rather than park.

"Park skating is new for me. It's been difficult to take my tricks from the big ramp and bring it into the bowl," he said in Brazil.

Now, he has made his decision.

“It just was going in that direction (walking away from snowboarding) and I didn’t feel comfortable with it, and I can’t wholeheartedly choose this path with what I’ve got going on snow,” he told AP.

Beijing 2022?

Does this mean White will be making a run at a fifth Olympics in the Chinese capital in two years' time?

He could potentially win a fourth gold medal (a fourth place at Sochi 2014 is the only blot on his Olympic career), but he would be 35 by the time of the Games.

“It doesn’t mean I’m committed to going to China," he said.

"But it doesn’t feel too far-fetched for me."