The Flying Tomato does it again

After another underwhelming Slope Style appearance, (finishing in 5^th place) White did what Shaun White does best in the Winter X Games; he dominated the Super Pipe like nobody’s business. With his win on Sunday night in Aspen, Colorado, White finds himself tied with Tucker Hibbert, Snowmobile Snocross Racer, for longest winning streak in Winter X Games history.  The win in the Winter X Weekend finale event was nothing less than the best, as expected whenever White enters the Super Pipe.

At the age of 26, White, wildly enough, was the oldest competitor in the field. After claiming two Olympic Gold Medals, and winning the five previous Winter X Games Super Pipe competitions, you figure some of his awe would have run-dry. This was not the case Sunday. White started his first run with a record-setting 24-foot, 1-inch high backside air on his first wall, before going on to earn the night’s top two scores. White finished both his runs with his patented back-to-back double cork 1260s, earning an event high 98.00, leaving no room for discussion on who was the winner. His final run was identical to the previous year’s Winter X Gold Medal run.

One amazing statistic that didn’t come from Shaun White, came all the way from Japan in the form of first-year competitor Ayumu Hirano. Hirano is 14 years old and in 8^th grade. Though the youngest and most inexperienced in the field, Hirano turned heads while scoring a 92.33 and claiming a Silver Medal. He was followed closely by Markus Malin of Finland, scoring 91.33 and claiming bronze. This is the first medal of his X Games career.

Where else can Shaun White take the sport of snowboarding? Only time will tell. Keep up with all the latest in extreme sports over at ESPN’s extreme sports page. 

Photo courtesy of www.shaunwhite.com