American snowboarding legend Shaun White revealed to Olympics.com in an interview Thursday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 over the Christmas holiday.
“I unfortunately got COVID-19 over the holidays, and now I’m bouncing back from it, and it’s not been a fun experience,” he said.
The last Olympic qualifying event begins January 7 as the U.S. Grand Prix kicks off at Mammoth Mountain in California. The three-time Olympic gold medalist hopes to make the four-man snowboarding team and represent the U.S. in Beijing next month.
“I’m just thankful that, like, I started testing negative before this competition, so I’m allowed to compete because that would have been a real frustrating position to be in to where, you know, it’s the last qualifier and I can’t ride,” said White.
“I had asthma as a kid and I have a heart condition. So you know, anything to do with lungs and respiratory is not so great, and it’s just been like this lingering cold.”
The 35-year-old pioneer of the sport returns to competition after a three-year hiatus. His seventh-place finish last month at the Dew Tour event makes qualifying at Mammoth Mountain paramount for the half-pipe veteran.
White has won Olympic gold three times: PyeongChang 2018, Torino 2016 and Vancouver 2010. However White fares during qualifying, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard committee will allow one spot on the four-man squad to be nominated through a coach’s decision.
White’s past Olympic success and experience, in addition to recent comments on Beijing being his career ‘swan song,’ may be enough for Team USA to give him the nod, even if he doesn’t make the podium in qualifying.