Sochi 2014 halfpipe winner Podladtchikov withdraws; White's odds improve

The men's halfpipe field was dealt a blow Friday morning as Swiss snowboarder Iuori Podladtchikov announced his withdrawal from PyeongChang 2018, citing a head injury.

“When I received this diagnosis, it was clear to me that I had sustained a serious and dangerous injury and that participating in the Olympic Games would pose a great risk to my health,” Podladtchikov said in a statement through Swiss Ski, according to Reuters' Jack Tarrant.

“After all the tests that I have had on the way to the present day in the last two weeks - including my first practice this Friday - I can say for sure that starting and participating in the Olympic Games is in no way safe and responsible.”

The 29-year-old, who captured the gold medal in men's halfpipe in Sochi four years ago, suffered a brutal head injury last month during the gold medal run at January's Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo., landing awkwardly after attempting a 1260-degree flip.

With "I-Pod" ruled out, the competition is wide open for medal hopefuls like U.S. snowboarding legend Shaun White. After winning gold at Torino in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010, "The Flying Tomato" came fourth at Sochi behind Podladtchikov, teen prodigy Ayumu Hirano of Japan, and Taku Hiraoka - also of Japan.

In this year's event, Hirano looms as the biggest threat to White's bid for Olympic redemption. Now 19 years old, the reigning Olympic silver medalist enters PyeongChang with momentum on his side, having secured gold medals at the 2016 and 2018 Winter X Games.