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It wasn’t a gold medal ending for Shaun White’s career, but the snowboarder finished strong in Beijing.
The 35-year old American and defending gold medalist finished in fourth place in the men’s halfpipe, his last ever event, with a high score of 85.00.
After White faltered on one of his landings in his first run, he banked a clean score on his second go with an 85.00. That moved him into second place for the time being, but he was bumped down following strong runs by Ayumu Hirano and Scotty James.
On White’s third run, needing to best a 92.50 to move into first and an 87.25 to get into the top three, he hit the halfpipe lip on his second jump, the fall ending his chances of a medal.
Japan’s Hirano won gold with a 96. Australia’s James won silver with a 92.50 and Switzerland’s Jan Scherrer took bronze.
White took his helmet off and raised it to the crowd, smiling through deep breaths after he got to the bottom of the run.
“That’s it,” he could be heard saying on NBC’s broadcast.
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