Three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White discusses who he is most excited to watch in skateboarding at the Paris Olympics and shares his summer role in a unique competition in Aruba.
Shaun White is ready for Paris.
Although the three-time Olympic gold medalist hung up his snowboard after the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, White is still paying close attention to Team USA, especially the skateboarding team.
The 37-year-old revealed to NBC Local who his favorite skateboarder is, and why.
"He's Heimana Reynolds," White revealed. "And he's just like, he's from Hawaii. I don't even know if he owns a T-shirt. The guy's just the Hawaii style."
Reynolds, who is set for his first Olympics in Paris, is from Honolulu and has said that White is his Olympic role model.
"He is an amazing competitor that worked extremely hard to get to where he is today," Reynolds said of White to NBC Sports. "He definitely deserved all of his accomplishments. We have grown close this past year and I can still say his one of my biggest role models."
However, for White, his excitement for Reynolds partly comes from knowing the guy he is off the track.
"(An) incredibly talented skateboarder, (and) the nicest guy you could imagine," White said of Reynolds. "When he's not training and competing, he's in Hawaii, teaching young kids how to skate at the skate park that his family operates."
"So I'm really pulling for him, it's gonna be awesome," White added.
What other sports is Shaun White excited for at the 2024 Olympics?
Along with being a skateboarding enthusiast, White is also thrilled to see surfing at this year's games in Tahiti.
Despite the games taking place in Paris, surfing will take place on the French Polynesian island due to its killer waves.
"I'm definitely gonna tune in to watch," White said. "But what I do know about Tahiti is that the waves just like, they (are) pumped there. They're big, they're fun. You know, it's not like a destination that doesn't get amazing swell."
"It's definitely exciting that this is a place that is gonna like produce some really incredible waves for the athletes," White added. "So, I don't know, I'm just excited to tune in and watch for sure."
