Shaun White Went To The Olympics Opening Ceremony For The Fourth Time & TBH, He Killed It
The 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games are offically underway! The Olympic opening ceremony happened Friday, Feb. 9, at 6 a.m. ET via live broadcast on NBC. It will air in primetime on Friday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. ET. Now that the ceremony has begun, people might be wondering: Is Shaun White at the 2018 Olympics Opening Ceremony? The short answer is yes. He arrived in the Olympic stadium with the other athletes representing the United States looking as excited as ever to be back at the games.
Lots of people were worried White wouldn't be able to compete this year due to some injuries in 2017. They weren't major, but they were enough to cause pause among White's fans. White had to miss the 100 Days Out celebration held 100 days (duh) before each Olympic games opening ceremony due to his injury. On Nov. 1, White sent a video to the TODAY Show explaining his injury and ensuring fans that he'd be healthy enough to compete in the PyeongChang Olympics come Feb. 9. In the video, he said, “I’m really sad and bummed that I couldn’t be there today for the 100 Days Out. I don’t know if you can tell from my face, but most recently I took a bad crash while I was training in New Zealand.” He continued,
I was working on a new trick, and as I re-entered the halfpipe, I clipped the top. I flew about 22 feet and hit my face at the bottom, and had 62 stitches and I had some bad bruising in my lungs. My modeling days may be over, but I will definitely be there in 2018 in PyeongChang for the Olympics.
White posted a picture of some of his injuries on Instagram on Oct. 21.
The photo shows some bleeding on his forehead, but White (who's wearing a medical mask over his mouth in the photo) is also giving a thumbs up to let fans know he was going to be fine. He captioned the post,
I’ve always lived my life by pushing the limits. Winning is great, but it’s the tough times that truly define you. I took a slam while training the other day, but don’t worry I’ll be back soon and better than ever!! Thanks @beatsbydre for bringing me into the family. #NormalisBorning #1of1 #RockNRoll.
White made good on his promise and was proudly at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, Feb. 9.
He was even spotted in Gus Kenworthy's Instagram story, where Kenworthy wrote, "LEGEND @shaunwhite."
The snowboarder has two Olympic gold medals to his name and is hoping to add more at this year's games. (This year marks his fourth appearance at the Winter Olympics.) According to USA Today Sports, White scored a perfect 100 at the U.S. Grand Prix last month, easily snagging his spot on the U.S. team. After the Grand Prix, he competed in one more Olympic qualifier and then the X Games just one week after. Japanese snowboarder Ayumu Hirano took first place in the X Games. After the competition, White told USA Today Sports that watching everyone compete was a great way to get pumped for the Olympics. He said,
It was really great for me to watch every single competition that’s gone down, but especially X was cool just because people we’re this close to the Olympics, so close to the Olympics and everybody’s trying their hardest runs. To see Ayumu really put it down and what his scores were compared with Scotty’s scores and what everybody was doing.
Scotty James is the Australian snowboarder who came in second place at the X Games. White said of the competition, “It was inspiring to watch and get motivated.” Let's hope that motivation has stuck around because the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics have officially begun!
Erin Jackson is an inline skating world medalist and roller derby MVP. She dreamed of skating in the Olympics, but to do that, she had to get on ice. She took her first steps on a long-track course in 2016 and started training professionally in September 2017. Four months later, she qualified for the Olympic Winter Games. Check out Elite Daily Insights' video on Jackson's incredible story:
To learn more, visit teamusa.org. The Winter Olympics will air live starting February 8.
