ROSA KHUTOR — He'd been on top of the snowboarding world for eight years, and after losing his Olympic title in Sochi on Tuesday, Shaun White had one eye on his legacy.
There's no suggestion he'll stop competing, but losing to close friend Iouri Podladtchikov seemed to put things in perspective for White, who has transformed snowboarding with a bevy of new tricks since his first Olympic gold in 2006, as well as becoming the sport's first true crossover star.
"I had a tough night but I think I affected a lot of people who have never seen the sport before," he said.
"I would always like to be remembered as more than just a snowboarder. I have so much going on in my life, and this is one big part of who I am, but I don't think it's all that I am."
White remains sure of his place within snowboarding.
"The tricks that I've learned getting ready for this competition will carry on for the next couple of years within the sport," White said.
"I definitely had one of those nights. It's a bummer. I had a game plan, a specific run I wanted to land and I didn't get to put that down so that's one of the most frustrating things."
There was even an echo of White's past in Sochi as one of the boarders ahead of him was Japan's Ayumu Hirano, who at 15 is the same age White was when he failed to make the U.S. Olympic team for the 2002 Olympics.
"Definitely for his age he put in a great run and handled the pressure," White said of the Japanese prodigy.
"I remember trying to go my first Olympics, I was 15, I missed out by three-tenths of a point, I was devastated," he said. "But everything happens for a reason and that's what led me to win my next Olympics."
For all his talk of memories and legacy, the 27-year-old White has the short-term on his mind too.
"I know where to go from here and that's on tour with the band [Bad Things, in which White is a guitarist]. I need a little break from snowboarding for a while and I'm hoping to go play some music with my friends."
Also see:
Switzerland's Podladtchikov Ousts Shaun White as Half-Pipe Golden Boy
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