Shaun White took one more step closer to qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team in slopestyle, taking third place on Sunday at CopperMountain.
White, who trains out of Northstar California ski resort in Lake Tahoe, placed third behind Norwegian winner Staale Sandbech. Sandbech scored 97.00 points in his second of two runs.
White is slated to appear at an Olympic qualifying event in early January at Northstar. White had 90.75 in his first run. However, he fell after performing an opening rail trick in his second run and glided down the rest of the course. There didn’t appear to be an injury.
One week ago, White had an ankle injury in halfpipe at the first of five Olympic selection events in Breckenridge, Colo. Due to the ankle, problem, he skipped last week’s slopestyle final and this week’s halfpipe.
If the U.S. Olympic Team in slopestyle was named today, White would have a berth. Up to three U.S. men and two women who have had a top-four result in Olympic selection events will be named to the Olympic team.
So far, White is the only U.S. men’s slopestyle snowboarder with a top-four result through two of five Olympic selection events.
Jamie Anderson takes third place
Also Sunday, Jamie Anderson, who trains out of Sierra-at-Tahoe, was the second highest American on Sunday, in seventh, to maintain her lead in the tiebreaker rankings. Anderson won in Breckenridge last week,
Czech Sarka Pancochova won the women’s event with a second-run 92.25.
Ty Walker, 16, was the top American in fourth to jump into the Olympic selection tiebreaker rankings.
The next Olympic selection event is in Breckenridge in January.
