UPDATE: (Since we posted this the creator of the video has had it removed but you can still watch it on his website).
Two-time Winter Olympic gold medallist, snowboard and skateboard icon and all-round pretty big deal Shaun White could probably tweet about brushing his teeth and it would be big news. It comes as no surprise then that his attendance as a spectator of the London Olympics (and, of all things, a gymnastics commentator) hasn’t gone unnoticed. And it’s all been further exasperated by shots of him watching Phelps claim his 19th gold medal this week next to Israeli stunner Bar Refaeli. Naturally the rumour mills started turning and the tabloids lapped it up like a desert exile at a watering hole.
Putting all of the irrelevant chat aside there has been some noteworthy media coverage of White’s visit. The Beeb’s Reggie Yates got a chance to interview the impeccably dressed superstar in the Olympic park to hear his thoughts on being a sporting icon, the pressure of competing in the Olympics and the introduction of more extreme sports to the Olympics. Here is that interview, complete with shots of the flying tomato competing at the last two Olympics (edit by Steve Turnbull). Merely winning both winter and summer X-Games gold medals in the same year would never be enough for Shaun and of course he would eat it up if skateboarding were to be introduced in the Olympics. And with the top form he’s currently enjoying (other than taking a break this summer for knee surgery), an Olympic clean sweep wouldn’t be out of the question by any means. But will skateboarding ever make it to the summer Olympics and if so, will Shaun still be at his currently unstoppable level in both snowboarding AND skateboarding to win golds at both? By the sounds of it, he seems to think so!
