Shaun White X Games: Flying Tomato Won't Be Denied by Rotten Ankle

Shaun White’s black-and-blue ankle won’t stop him from going for the gold.

An ankle injury would hold most X-Games athletes back from being able to legitimately compete for the gold, if not hold them out of competition altogether.  But White isn’t interested in watching this year’s winter games from outside the lines.

ESPN’s Colin Bane reported on Friday that White’s sprained ankle that he injured in a practice run would keep him out of the Snowboard Slopestyle.  The action-sports superstar voiced his frustration to the media saying that:

“I'm disappointed.  My priority this year was to ride in Slopestyle, and unfortunately I hit my ankle again riding the course in today's practice.  I'm going to rest up and get ready to ride Pipe on Sunday.”

And he did just that failing to disappoint.  In the SuperPipe elimination round, he placed a Run 1 score of 88.66 which led the pack.  His performance definitely didn’t scream I can’t walk without a limp.

According to Bane, White talked about missing the Slopestyle further saying:

“It was just brutal to sit one out.  I was just sitting on the bed with ice, doing nothing.  I talked to the doctor, I was like, ‘what do I gotta do?’  He was like, ‘you've gotta rest.’”

That rest looked like it paid off as White is well on his way to winning yet another gold medal in the SuperPipe.  If he ends up being the last one standing despite his unfortunate injury, the feat will make his dominance mean that much more.  Elite competitors are able to play though pain and White is showcasing just how elite of an athlete that he is.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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