The icon Shaun White is a legendary snowboarder. Retiring after a successful career at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, he won three Olympic gold medals in the half-pipe competition. Time after time, he kept coming back to win different events, putting other competitors to shame. Thus, he was the benchmark for most snowboarders. Similarly, he was a brilliant skateboarder as well.

Often compared to the influential Tony Hawk, White is the first person to win a medal in both the Winter and Summer X-Games. As someone well versed in both sports, was he a better snowboarder or a skateboarder?

A better snowboarder or a skateboarder?

Out of all the 23 X Games medals, he won 15 gold, five silver, and three bronze medals. When dividing these medals, White had a glorious snowboarding career. He won 13 from snowboarding disciplines, and the other two came from skateboarding. He won eight gold medals in the SuperPipe and five in the Slopestyle event. It is an all-time X-Games record for the most gold medals in the Winter discipline.

In addition, he won a silver medal in the Slopestyle and two in the Superpipe competition. He then claimed one bronze in the Slopestyle event. Wholly, he has eight X Games Snowboard SuperPipe gold, five Slopestyle gold, and 11 ESPY awards. Adding those three Olympic gold medals to his career makes him the ultimate snowboarder.

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Although Mark McMorris and Jamie Anderson have the highest Winter X-Game medals with 21, White is way ahead in the gold medal category. The way he dominated the snowboarding disciplines was just incredible. However, his skateboarding competitions provided some of the best moments as well. 

Shaun White with wheels

Making his skateboarding debut at the 2003 X Games, White finished 6th in his first attempt. But that didn’t hurt him as he got back up and practiced hard. He won his first gold medal at the 2007 X Games for vert and followed it with another at the 2011 X Games. Apart from those two gold medals, White won two silver medals and one bronze medal in the vert competition. He also took part in the vert best trick competition but only finished as high as fourth. 

Hence, he is a better snowboarder than a skateboarder. However, with Shaun White, what if he had focused on skateboarding as he did on snowboarding? The results might have been legendary. It is incredible to see the legend at work. Forever, the greatest of all time!

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