Shaun White leaves Sochi without a medal (Tyler Ingram/Creative Commons)

Midway through his second run during the men’s half-pipe final yesterday, the two-time Olympic gold medalist, whom most thought to be virtual shoo-in for the podium, crashed at full speed to a fourth-place finish that no one saw coming. White finished with a score of 90.25 while Russia’s own Iouri Podladtchikov secured the gold with a score of 94.75. 

“Tonight was just not my time,” White said after the event. 

The nail in the coffin came after a series of uncharacteristic slips for the typically immaculate White. It was unexpected, given his steady showing before the finals. Coming into the half-pipe final at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, many considered him the prohibitive favorite – he had recorded a 95.25 during his first run during qualifiers. 

It is a bitter pill for the 27-year-old White to swallow, especially since his peers appear to be satisfied – some are even gleeful – at the San Diego-born snowboarder’s collapse.  

“The world knows now that there are other snowboarders besides Shaun,” said American teammate Danny Davis, “It's great, man, because there are a bunch of good riders in our sport and they deserve some credit, too."

This marks the end of the relentless grip that White has had on the sport for a decade. And as he enters the twilight of his snowboarding career, it remains to be seen if 13-time Winter X Games gold medalist will return for the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang for one final hurrah. 

Between this and him dropping out of this year’s slopestyle event, it is highly possible that our last enduring image is of White – snowboarding’s most celebrated and decorated athlete – walking away disappointed and empty-handed. 

Reach Executive Producer Andrew Seah here.