ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Shaun White was at the bottom of the halfpipe, chatty and relieved, just as the sun was sinking. He was talking about making it through to another Winter Olympics final, two days away, and maybe, just maybe, finishing his career, at 35, with another gold medal.
But he could not help but be nostalgic, too. This is a farewell tour, after all, his fifth and final Olympics, which means that White has three rides left, all on Friday (Thursday night in the United States). He mentioned Jake Burton Carpenter, the founder of Burton Snowboards, who died in 2019.