Snowboarding star Shaun White confirmed in USA team for Winter Olympics in Beijing

Shaun White is set to compete in his fifth Winter Olympic Games, after U.S. Ski and Snowboard named him in their roster for Beijing 2022 on Friday 21 January.

The three-time snowboarding Olympic gold medallist was selected for the team for February's Games after a busy final few weeks of the qualifying window. White missed the finals of the U.S. Grand Prix in Mammoth Mountain, the final home qualifier for eligibility to Team USA, following a hard landing in his qualifying heat.

He then dashed to Europe to compete in the Laax Open, and his podium finish proved crucial to selection.

"Every Olympics is different—how I went into Italy was so different from Pyeongchang," White said as the U.S. freestyle ski and snowboard team was announced on Friday night. "Right now I'm focused on training smarter, not harder. I’m listening to my body and knowing when to push and when to pull back."

White will be especially relieved to have made the cut, given that participation in the final qualifying events came under threat after he tested positive for COVID-19. He broke the news to Olympics.com on Thursday 6 January, but is expected to be fully recovered in time for the Games.

“Hopefully the worst is behind me at this point,” the 35-year-old said at the time. ''I had asthma as a kid and I have a heart condition. So you know, anything to do with lungs and respiratory is not so great and it's just been like this lingering cold."

“I’ve got another month (until the Winter Olympics). So let's hope there's not long term effects.”

White will be hoping to defend his snowboard halfpipe title at Beijing 2022. The qualification rounds take place on Wednesday 9 February before the final on Friday 11 February.

An unusual qualifying issue

Qualification is never given on the U.S. team, even for a three-time Olympic champion.

White struggled to find his best form at the first qualification event on Copper Mountain, where he also had to contend with two snapped sets of bindings.

"My nerves got a little hold of me. Those days don't happen often, but unfortunately it did happen on that day," he shared with Olympics.com

_"_I couldn't put a run down in finals, it just didn't go my way."

With four Olympic places up for grabs on Team USA’s snowboard roster, White and his coaches decided to put down a conservative final run, maintain position in the top four, and focus on the next qualifier.

The plan was executed to perfection. The California-born rider went into the Mammoth Mountain event in third position, and, despite missing the finals, did enough to ensure Beijing selection was a possibility.

His place in that top four was confirmed when he reached the final at Laax in Switzerland days later, and he capped that off with a podium finish before being announced on the team for Beijing.

How a three-time Olympic champion deals with pressure

White will be one of the most high-profile athletes at the Winter Olympics. With significant expectations on his shoulders, he revealed how he deals with the pressure of the occasion that follows him.

_“_That sort of expectation can be kind of crippling,” he continued. “But I’ve learnt to use it as a motivator. I have the support of everyone rather than the expectation to win and to be perfect every day.

_“_No outside force can put more pressure than I put on myself anyway,” he added.

What each Olympics meant to Shaun White

The desire to win has always been the primary motivator behind White's enormous success.

But to win three Olympic gold medals, and compete in five Winter Olympics, the desire to win isn't enough. He needed extra inspiration, which came in the form of creating history, proving doubters wrong, and securing his legacy.

"The first Olympics (Torino 2006) was all about, “Hey, I'm here, I want to show that I'm the best.” And I was able to win that Olympics and it changed my life," he told Olympics.com. “Going back and winning (at Vancouver 2010) was all about cementing it in, like, “Hey, this wasn't a fluke… I'm a force to be reckoned in this sport and this is my life.""

“Going back for the third time (at Sochi 2014), that's when I kind of lost my way, I was like, “So what does this one mean?" I was excited to compete again, but it just didn't have that meaning behind it and I'd lost something," he said. "And so even standing there with the tricks to win, I just couldn't put it down.

“And so that next Olympics after that, PyeongChang (2018) was really about finding the love of the sport.

“Trying to do something legendary, trying to do something that…look at the amount of time I've been in the sport to come back from an upset to win, I mean, that's what sports is all about," he went on. "It's like you have an upset in your life and it changes you and you grow as a person and as an athlete to get to that point to succeed again.

“I don't want to steal the phrase from the Michael Jordan documentaries, but this (Beijing 2022) is that last dance. This is that bonus round. It's something that I didn't think I was going to be attending, and I'm still in the mix. I'm still strong and motivated and ready to ride.”

MORE: Olympic snowboard at Beijing 2022: Top five things to know

USA freeski/snowboard team for Beijing 

Snowboard halfpipe (women)

• Chloe Kim
• Maddie Mastro
• Zoe Kalapos
• Tessa Maud

Snowboard halfpipe (men)

• Taylor Gold
• Shaun White
• Chase Josey
• Lucas Foster

Snowboard slopestyle/big air (women)

• Jamie Anderson
• Hailey Langland
• Julia Marino
• Courtney Rummel

Snowboard slopestyle/big air (men)

• Dusty Henricksen
• Red Gerard
• Chris Corning
• Sean FitzSimons

Snowboard cross (women)

• Faye Gulini
• Lindsey Jacobellis
• Stacy Gaskill
• Meghan Tierney

Snowboard cross (men)

• Nick Baumgartner
• Hagen Kearney
• Alex Deibold
• Mick Dierdorff

Freeski halfpipe (women)

• Brita Sigourney
• Devin Logan
• Hanna Faulhaber
• Carly Margulies

Freeski halfpipe (men)

• Alex Ferreira
• Aaron Blunck
• David Wise
• Birk Irving

Freeski slopestyle/big air (women)

• Maggie Voisin
• Caroline Claire
• Marin Hamill
• Darian Stevens

Freeski slopestyle/big air (men)

• Alex Hall
• Nick Goepper
• Mac Forehand
• Colby Stevenson

Freestyle skiing aerials (women)

• Ashley Caldwell
• Kaila Kuhn
• Megan Nick
• Winter Vinecki

Freestyle skiing aerials (men)

• Chris Lillis
• Eric Loughran
• Justin Schoenefeld

Freestyle skiing moguls (women)

• Olivia Giaccio
• Jaelin Kauf 
• Kai Owens
• Hannah Soar

Freestyle skiing moguls (men)

• Cole McDonald
• Nick Page
• Dylan Walczyk
• Brad Wilson

Ski cross

• Tyler Wallasch