Rivals mock snowboard superstar White over injury pull-out

Reigning snowboard halfpipe champion Shaun White pulled out of the Olympic slopestyle event on Wednesday -- ending his bid for double gold in Sochi and prompting taunts from rivals. White, 27, who won the halfpipe at the 2006 Turin Games and retained his title in Vancouver, had voiced concerns about the condition and difficulty of the slopestyle course during training runs earlier this week. "After much deliberation with my team, I have made the decision to focus solely on trying to bring home the third straight gold medal in halfpipe for Team USA," White said in a statement on the website of the US Ski and Snowboard Association. @shaun_white #TeamUSA #Sochi2014 "The difficult decision to forego slopestyle is not one I take lightly as I know how much effort everyone has put into holding the slopestyle event for the first time in Olympic history, a history I had planned on being part of." White -- one of the biggest names at the Games -- told reporters on Tuesday that the course was "intimidating", particularly as he had to go down it after Norwegian Torstein Horgmo fell and broke his collarbone. White himself hurt his wrist, ankle and suffered a bruise under his eye in a fall on Tuesday, although he initially suggested it would not deter his double attempt. "With the practice runs I have taken, even after course modifications and watching fellow athletes get hurt, the potential risk of injury is a bit too much for me to gamble my other Olympics goals on," White said in a statement to NBC's TODAY show. Changes were made to the course earlier this week after athletes made complaints. Slopestyle is one of two new snowboard events at Sochi 2014. White has been slopestyle champion five times at the X Games. But he has struggled with injuries and battled to qualify for the US team. He pulled out of the 2014 X Games to nurse his injuries and focus on training for both slopestyle and halfpipe ahead of the Olympics. Canadian slopestyle medal contender Sebastien Toutant took to Twitter to goad White. "Mr. White... It's easy to find excuses to pull out of a contest when you think you can't win," he tweeted. Rival Maxence Parrot, also from Canada, tweeted: "Shaun knows he won't be able to win the slopes, thats why he pulled out. He's scared!" "Shaun is the consummate professional and has made a sound athletic decision," said US Snowboarding & Free Skiing director Jeremy Forster in a statement. "We anticipate an outstanding slopestyle debut on Saturday, but also respect the importance to Shaun to keep his focus on winning a third halfpipe gold." Source: AFP