Shaun White got an up-close look at the new Olympic men’s halfpipe favorite, taking fourth behind Japanese Totsuka Yuto in White’s first snowboard contest in three years on Sunday.
Totsuka, 19, won with a 91.75-point opening run at the U.S. Grand Prix at Aspen, Colorado. White had a best score of 81.50 as the top American in the first of a series of U.S. Olympic qualifiers that resume next season.
White, 34, has work ahead to become the oldest U.S. Olympic halfpipe rider in history, but he’s in a good place. Taking a fourth gold medal is a much bigger ask.