Shaun White has cemented his legacy as the most successful American snowboarder of all time after winning his third Olympic gold medal.
The 31-year-old American broke down in tears and cried ‘oh my God, oh my God, oh my God’ after taking the win in a spectacular halfpipe final at Phoenix Snow Park in Pyeonchang on Wednesday.
The Flying Tomato threw his board in the air when his winning score flashed, setting off a delirious celebration.
Shaun White has cemented his legacy as the most successful snowboarder of all time after winning a third Olympic gold medal in Pyeongchang
He cried openly as he hugged his parents and girlfriend Sarah.
Such was the raw emotion of the moment that he refused to let go of his father despite pleas from officials for him to attend the winner’s podium.
White scored 97.75 on his final run to pip Japan’s Ayumu Hirano to the gold, while Australian Scotty James took bronze.
He trailed Hirano going into the last of the three runs in the 12-man final, but put together a daring set that included consecutive 1440-degree spins.
Such was the raw emotion of the moment that he refused to let go of his father Roger despite pleas from officials for him to attend the winner’s podium
The 31-year-old American broke down in tears as he hugged his parents after clinching the gold medal
The Flying Tomato threw his board in the air when his winning score flashed, setting off a delirious celebration
The US have won all four snowboarding golds awarded at the Games so far.
White’s father told DailyMail.com: ‘I am in tears. This means so much to him. He was incredible. So brave. He deserves this gold. He’s worked so hard.
He is the first American male to win gold at three separate Winter Olympics – he also won in 2006 and 2010.
His victory also gave the United States its 100th gold medal in Winter Olympics history.
White failed to reach the podium four years ago in Sochi, a loss that led him to do more than a fair amount of soul searching in the aftermath.
Last fall he underwent emergency surgery on his nose and upper lip in New Zealand after smashing into the deck of the halfpipe during training and arrived in South Korea with stitches in his mouth that still hadn’t fully dissolved.