What’s Shaun White got in store for the Sochi 2014 Olympics?
White, the two-time reigning Olympic halfpipe champion, spent time this fall training on a personal halfpipe built for him in Perisher, Australia.
“I need a rough draft of what to expect at the Sochi Olympics,” White said in the video.
One of the tricks he worked on was a frontside double cork 1440. At least one other snowboarder can do a 1440 trick -- Switzerland’s Iouri Podladtchikov, whom White has said is his biggest competition.
Podladtchikov, I-Pod, landed the first cab double cork 1440 in competition at Winter X Games Tignes in March. It’s been named the YOLO Flip, a nod to the phrase “You Only Live Once.”
White had the toughest trick at the 2010 Olympics -- the Double McTwist 1260. The double cork 1440 is like the Double McTwist but with an added half revolution of twist inside the two head-over-heels flips, according to The Associated Press.
“Just that subtle a change, it throws the whole axis of the trick off,” White said, according to the AP. “It’s a completely different thing.”
No snowboarder has tried more than a double cork 1080 in two Olympic selection events so far, according to the AP. White and Podladtchikov competed in the first event in Breckenridge, Colo., two weeks ago but not in Copper Mountain, Colo., last week.
White finished second in Breckenridge, suffering an ankle injury, and Podladtchikov was 13th.
White didn’t seem worried that his peers could gain an advantage from seeing White performing a new trick.
“Just because you can see the trick doesn’t mean it’s easy to duplicate,” White said.
