WINTER GONE WITH THE WIND
Weather plays spoiler, forces postponement of 2 medal events
Pyeongchang, Feb. 14: Snowboarding great Shaun White brilliantly won his third Olympic gold but then faced awkward questions over sex claims on Wednesday as strong winds caused chaos at the Pyeongchang Winter Games.
White, starting last in the halfpipe, watched bronze medallist Scotty James wipe out before nailing a spectacular last run of the day to snatch victory from Japan’s Ayumu Hirano, celebrating wildly afterwards.
It was redemption for the 31-year-old veteran, known as the “Flying Tomato” because of his red hair, who won gold in 2006 and 2010 and helped put the hipster sport on the map, but flopped in Sochi four years ago.
It was a landmark win because it brought USA their 100th Winter Olympics gold stretching back to speed skater Charles Jewtraw in 1924. White, Chloe Kim, Jamie Anderson and Red Gerard have locked up all four snowboarding titles for America so far.
However, White’s joy was punctured when he was questioned by reporters over a sex harassment case involving the female former drummer of his band, Bad Things, which he settled out of court last year. “Honestly, I’m here to talk about the Olympics, not gossip. But I don’t think so,” said White, when asked if the case had tarnished his legacy.
While the snowboarding went ahead, it was very different elsewhere as high winds forced organisers to close Gangneung’s Olympic Park to visitors and postpone the women's slalom skiing and the women's 15km individual biathlon.
Meanwhile, at the Gangneung, a coastal city, spectators were urged to stay indoors, shops were shut and visitors were turned away from Olympic Park, which houses four ice sports arenas.