halfpipe snowboarding event and 31-year-old Shawn
White won gold in the men’s event at the Winter Olympics
in February. But making the United States team will be
extremely difficult, especially since the field in Tokyo will be
restricted to nine riders from around the world.
“I’m not going to lie. It’s a long shot,” he says. “The U.S.
is one of the biggest talent pools in the world for BMX
freestyle. I’ve got to be the best out of all those guys. And
some of those guys are young enough to be my kids. But I
still feel I have what it takes to be on a podium in a contest.
If I can be in the top three at an event, I have a chance of
making the Olympics.”
It will take some serious training, which means he’ll con-tinue
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WBM
to draw attention at the skatepark when he’s doing
tricks like barspins, backflips, and 360 and 720 spins.
“Some guys are starting to realize that I show up,” he
says. “They may not know my name but they know me as
the guy who goes high.”
If they don’t know his name, or his accolades, or his
Olympic dreams, that’s OK. As Ali says, he’s just a regular
Joe.
“It’s cool to get noticed sometimes, but I’d much rather
have someone come up and want to ride with me and join
the fun than have everyone stop what they’re doing and
take a camera out,” he says. “What I enjoy the most is meet-ing
people, riding with people, pushing people beyond
their comfort level. Riding in the skatepark, there’s a lot of
really cool lines that a lot of people didn’t see or maybe
were too scared to try. I enjoy riding with people that want
to progress. Not only does it get them excited and stoked
and happy about it, but it gets me excited.”
SHANNON WILFONG PHOTOGRAPHY
AS T H E G U Y W H O G O E S H I G H . ”