Watch: Shaun White Wins Gold With Back-to-Back 1440's on Final Run
Shaun White won his third gold medal in the Olympic halfpipe with a score of 97.75 on his third and final run.
Japan's Ayumu Hirano took silver and Australia's Scotty James took home the bronze.
White came out of the gate firing. On his opening run, he threw together back-to-back 1260's en route to a score of 94.25, which catapulted him into the lead. Here's the opening run:
Hirano, 19, seized the lead on his second run, which featured back-to-back 1440's. Four years after he took silver in Sochi as a 15-year-old, Hirano's second run score of 95.25 earned him the silver.
White, who knew he had to put together difficult combinations to top Hirano's score, then fell on his second run to leave himself one last chance at the gold.
On his final run, he scored 97.75 by hitting consecutive 1440's and back-to-back 1260's.
White, 31, won the halfpipe at Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010 but finished a disappointing fourth at Sochi 2014.
He came into the event with some momentum, as he finished first in qualifying with a run that included back-to-back 1260's.
American snowboarders have had a terrific showing thus far in PyeongChang, going four-for-four in the freestyle events. Seventeen-year-old Red Gerard took gold in the men's slopestyle, and fellow 17-year-old Chloe Kim put forth a dominant performance en route to gold in the women's halfpipe. Jamie Andersen weathered the elements to win a women's slopestyle competition that was marred by high winds.
