GoPro Previews Shaun White's New Halfpipe Trick For Sochi Olympics: Frontside Double-Cork 1440
(AP) - Shaun White's adding a new twist for Sochi.
Well, half a twist, really.
On a video posted to a sponsor's YouTube site Thursday, White shows the world the trick he's been working on for the upcoming Olympics.
It's a frontside double-cork 1440, which resembles his Double McTwist 1260 but adds another half revolution of twist inside the two head-over-heels flips.
"Just that subtle a change, it throws the whole axis of the trick off," White told The Associated Press earlier this month. "It's a completely different thing."
White's McTwist 1260 had been the most difficult trick on the halfpipe. He perfected it in the lead-up to the Vancouver Olympics and landed it on his second run at the games, using it even though he'd already wrapped up the gold medal on his first run.
He says he's pleased with the 1440 and has no problem showing the competition what he's got up his sleeve.
"Just because you can see the trick doesn't mean it's easy to duplicate," he said.
White has been dealing with an ankle injury over the first two Olympic qualifying events.
He hurt his left ankle during a halfpipe run at the Dew Tour in Breckenridge. He ended up finishing second there, then pulling out of the halfpipe contest the next week in Copper Mountain so he could focus on slopestyle.
The next selection event starts Jan. 8 in Breckenridge, giving White a few weeks to heal. Through the first two halfpipe qualifiers, no competitor has tried anything more than a double cork 1260, meaning there may not be any pressure on White to unveil his new trick.
Of course, the two-time defending Olympic champion doesn't always see things that way.
"It's time to just do those tricks," he said in the AP interview, which came a few days before he hurt his ankle. "If you're going to do them, do them now. It's a new one I'm hoping to slide into the run."
