'I'm going straight to the Super Bowl' - Shaun White swaps Winter Olympics for NFL and Rams v Bengals in LA

Published 13/02/2022 at 11:47 GMT

"I'm going straight to the Super Bowl," Team USA snowboarding legend Shaun White told the Olympics in an extended interview after his appearance at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. "I've never been and I had it on my bucket list. I've never been to the Super Bowl because it's always kind of during our time on the mountain and in our season. So like right away, I get to check something off my list."

‘See how much it means to him’ – White ‘rises to challenge’ but falls just short in final

Three-time Olympic gold medal-winning snowboarder Shaun White may have bowed out at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, but he is now off to the Super Bowl in Los Angeles.

The Team USA legend brought his illustrious career to an end after he had to settle for fourth place in the men's halfpipe with Ayumu Hirano of Japan taking a stunning victory.

The 35-year-old was left very emotional as he said goodbye to the sport and the Olympic Games, but he was quickly back in the headlines by announcing that he was heading straight to the Super Bowl.

Beijing 2022

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From Beijing to Los Angeles, White will witness the Cincinnati Bengals visit Sofi Stadium to take on the LA Rams in their own stadium for another of the biggest stages in world sport.

Although the American was crushed to not medal in Beijing as he brought his career to an end, he has said that he is excited for his next challenges and taking in other experiences.

"I'm going straight to the Super Bowl," White told Olympics.com in an extended interview.

"I've never been and I had it on my bucket list. I've never been to the Super Bowl because it's always kind of during our time on the mountain and in our season. So like right away, I get to check something off my list."

'He is the face of snowboarding' - Morgan pays tribute to legend White

On his experience in Beijing and retiring, he said: "It's wild. I'm so happy with everything and the response from my friends and fellow competitors and anybody that has kind of tuned in to watch this Olympics.

"The response has been amazing, and that's really warming my heart and carrying me through all this. I was very emotional at the bottom, and rightfully so, I spent my entire life doing this.

"Even when I was counted out for the next Olympics in the back of my mind, I was always like, well, don't count me out just yet, I'll probably be there. Like, I never really let go until recently, and it's been a beautiful thing.

"Regrets? That's such a tough thing to ask a competitor because your mistakes in life kind of teach you so many lessons. So if it weren't for my loss in Sochi, I don't know if I would have come back the way I did for the Korea Olympics.

"The ups and downs, it's like the silver linings show up later on and you kind of go, wow, if that never happened then this wouldn't have happened, and what trajectory your life would have been on if events were different.

"So at this point, I can't really say I have too many regrets, no. I'm pretty thrilled and that's what this whole Olympic run was about. My team had kind of coined it as like this victory bonus lap, you know, appreciation tour...

"Like just enjoy, be in the moment, and yeah, if things aren't going your way, then that's okay."