Shaun White won gold in the halfpipe

Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986) is an American professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He rides regular stance, twelve and negative three degrees on his board. He is known for his shock of red hair, for which he has become known as "Animal" and "The Flying Tomato".

Personal life
White was born with a Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect for which he endured two open-heart operations before the age of one. He stands 5'8" (1.73 m) tall. He spent his formative years riding Okemo Mountain and Bear Mountain, small ski resorts found in Ludlow, Vermont, and the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California.
Addressing his perception of the nickname "The Flying Tomato", paneramagazine wrote, "he used to embrace it, even wearing headbands with a flying-tomato logo, but he has grown tired of it." During February 2009, Red Bull built White a halfpipe completely out of natural snow in the back country of Colorado on the backside of Silverton Mountain.

Snowboarding career
White has participated in two Winter Olympics in his career. At both the 2006 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the halfpipe. White has also participated in the Winter X Games, where he has won a medal every year since 2002. Including all winter X Games competitions through 2009, his medal count stands at 14 (9 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), including the first four-peat winner by a male athlete in one discipline, the snowboard slopestyle. White's streak was snapped in 2007 when he lost to Andreas Wiig and Jussi Oksanen, with White taking the bronze. He won the Air & Style Contest in 2003 and 2004.
2010 Winter Olympics
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, White again won gold in the halfpipe. In the finals, White recorded a score of 46.8 on his first run, which proved a high enough score to secure the gold medal without a second run. He performed his second run anyway, ending his run with a Double McTwist 1260. This second run resulted in a record score of 48.4 (50 is the highest possible score) enlarging his margin of victory. His nearest competitor won the silver with a points total of 45.0, 3.4 behind White.

Personal information

Full name : Shaun Roger White
Date of birth : September 3, 1986 (1986-09-03) (age 23)
Place of birth : San Diego, California, U.S.
Height : 5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m)
Weight : 139 pounds (63 kg)

Sport

Country : United States
Sport : Snowboarding, Skateboarding

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_White

Winter Olympics start despite luge tragedy

The 2010 Winter Olympics opened in spectacular fashion on Saturday but the ceremony was overshadowed by the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili.

The Georgian team, wearing black armbands, were given a standing ovation at the ceremony and a minute's silence was impeccably observed in Vancouver. The stunning visual ceremony started with a snowboarder jumping through the Olympic rings. And, despite the tragedy, there was a festive mood inside BC Place Stadium.

The ceremony was held undercover for the first time and officially opened by Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean. The Olympic flame was jointly lit by four Canadian sports heroes - all-time hockey great Wayne Gretzky, skier Nancy Greene, speed skater Catriona Le May Doan and basketball All-Star Steve Nash after being carried into the arena by paralympian Rick Hansen. However a technical hitch meant only three of the torchbearers were able to light the flame after one of the ice columns failed to appear.

Gretzky then made his way to the harbour to light a second cauldron outside in the harbour area which will burn for the 17 days of competition. IOC president Jacques Rogge, wearing a black tie, prefaced the traditional opening speeches by saying: "It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the tragic loss of Nodar Kumaritashvili of the Georgian team, who passed away this morning in a training accident on the luge track.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends, team-mates and country."

And John Furlong, chief executive of Vanoc, the organising committee, said: "May you carry his [Kumaritashvili's], Olympic dream on your shoulders and compete with his spirit in your hearts."

More than 60,000 spectators witnessed 2,500 athletes from 82 nations parade - including debutants Cayman Islands, Colombia, Ghana, Pakistan and Peru. The largest cheer was for the host team Canada, with Clara Hughes, defending 5000m speed skating champion waving the flag and clad all in red. Great Britain were led in by skeleton slider Shelley Rudman resplendent in a white jacket and navy blue trousers and a red beret.

She was the team's only medallist at the 2006 Winter Olympics but at the Vancouver Games the British are being tipped for possibly their best medal haul, if they can beat the four medals won in 1924. The three- hour extravaganza included a cultural segment featuring many of Canada's best-known musical stars - Bryan Adams, Nelly Furtado and KD Lang.

Canada's aboriginal communities were also highlighted with the four chiefs of the First Nations, whose traditional native territory overlaps the Olympic region, part of the official delegation at the ceremony. Among the state-of-the-art special effects included a giant, sparkling polar bear rising from the stadium floor and hovering over performers on a simulated ice floe.

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/vancouver_2010/8511851.stm