The highly anticipated men’s halfpipe event ended with stunning results for U.S. Olympic snowboarder Shaun White.
Spoilers ahead ...
White, who had hoped to win a third straight gold medal in the event, finished fourth and didn't earn a medal at all.
White, 27, opted out of the earlier slopestyle event to focus on the halfpipe, but after faltering twice in the finals, he lost to Iouri Podladtchikov of Switzerland. Ayumu Hirano and Taku Hiraoka of Japan took silver and bronze respectively.
Podladtchikov, known as “I-Pod,” invented the "Yolo" trick. White faltered on the trick, which includes two head-over-heels flips and two 360-degree turns.
"I'm disappointed," White told The Associated Press. "I hate the fact I nailed it in practice, but it happens. It's hard to be consistent."
U.S. snowboarder Danny Davis, who finished 10th, called Podladtchikov “incredible.”
"I think it's great the American public and the world now knows that there are
other snowboarders besides Shaun White," Davis said, according to USA Today. "Shaun's, don't get me wrong, one of the most talented, one of the best riders there are, but there are guys who are just as good if not better and today Iouri was the best rider."
Several competitors complained about the pipe, saying the walls were too vertical and the flat bottom was bumpy, according to USA Today.
White drew criticism for withdrawing from the slopestyle event too late to be replaced. American Sage Kotsenburg won gold in that event.
Twitter was buzzing with reactions to the event.
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