Three-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time Olympian overall Shaun White recently announced his retirement from competitive snowboarding. The news comes after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics kicked off with primetime coverage on February 3rd in China, with its official closing ceremony taking place on the 20th of this month.

White, who has been a part of the sport for around twenty years, with origins starting at six years old before making his Olympic qualifier debut at fifteen, shared sentiments about his time as an athlete on December 15th, 2021, during an interview with TODAY, hinting at retirement. “This is, I think, my last run,” the California native told the morning show. “It’s hard to talk about because my whole life I’ve kind of been looked at as somewhat superhuman because I do these things [in the halfpipe].” He went on to express how he’s “prided himself on being that individual, and man, realizing and admitting to himself and everyone else that he’s human, and it’s taken a toll.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone nearly a month after, White told Matt Sullivan his desires on when and where his successful career would come to an end on his terms when asked if he planned on retiring preceding the 2022 Beijing Olympics, to which White replied, “…I got totally romanced by the idea of finishing my career where I started it, which would be Italy [the site of the 2026 Winter Olympics].”

This past weekend on February 5th, Shaun White officially announced his retirement after months of speculation due to past statements made by the professional athlete, such as in his somewhat recent TODAY and Rolling Stone interviews. As Yahoo’s Corrine Heller reported, White confirmed his decision at the men’s snowboarding halfpipe press conference in Zhangjiakou. “This has all had its amazing glow to every single decision and every single competition because I’ve decided this will be my last Olympics,” the multi-winning medalist stated. “I’ve given it my all. There have been some ups and downs on the way to get here. But through all that, I feel I’ve got stronger and better,” he continued.

Shaun White, who recently sat down with VMAN to discuss his upcoming luggage collaborative release set with the late Virgil Abloh, is set to compete in the men’s snowboard halfpipe qualifier on February 8th and its final on February 10th. Both events will premiere at 8:30 pm EST on NBC and Peacock.

You can explore the full Shaun White VMAN interview with Ellie Beeck here.