Olympic snowboard champion White says proud to change sport

PYEONGCHANG, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- American two-times Olympic champion Shaun White said he is proud to have inspired his rivals after he qualified first in the snowboarding men's halfpipe of the PyeongChang Winter Games at the Phoenix Snow Park on Tuesday.

"I have watched Ayumu Hirano of Japan since he was 13 years old. He was in a tough position like I was as a kid where you have a lot of pressure to be the next great thing in the sport. Yeah, they were saying that to him that Ayumu was going to be the next Shaun White as a 13-year-old kid," White said.

"That's a lot of pressure and a lot to live up to for me, and I am sitting there saying 'What do you mean? I am still here'. I am just proud to be someone that changed the sport," he added.

Asked about starting the final as the highest-ranked boarder, White said he got the favorite slot and that it's a really good luck spot.

"I get my favourite slot, dropping last and that was big for me. I really wanted it. This is my fourth Olympics, I have never really felt like an underdog since I was a little kid.

"I knew I had it in me, I watched these young guys putting these amazing runs in and it fired me up. I just wanted to show that this is what I have been doing my entire life.

"I am here to put it down," White said of the men's halfpipe which takes place on Wednesday. Enditem