Olympic 2010 Gold Winner: Shaun White's Success Secret on the Half Pipe

Less than 24 hours before his scheduled appearance on the half pipe, Shaun White was out kayaking.  This he says is the secret to his success.

Instead of practicing a run that he already knew he could land, he and his coach Bud Keene and nine of his friends went to Horseshow Bay in Vancouver and rented kayaks.  Instead of worrying and getting psyched out about the biggest run in his career, Shaun White spent the evening not thinking or worrying about snowboarding.

Qualifying for the finals on Wednesday night he considered doing the McTwist which is the trick that he has talked about in every interview since last month while in Utah.  He decided to save the McTwist which is now dubbed the Tomahawk after a steak that he ate recently in Aspen, Colorado.  His safety run was good enough to move him into first place and his first run score of 46.8 was enough to hold him in first place.

White's second run was the most exhilerating and exciting thirty seconds of the night which included the double McTwist 1260.

White will be awarded his gold medal on Thursday night while the women's team will be running the pipe.  He said that he is happy because he can now sleep and has many activities planned for the night of which kayaking will NOT be one of them.

Congratulations Shaun White!  Go U.S.A.!