The Flying Tomato's final flight? Shaun White primed for golden redemption

Shaun White is dropping into uncharted territory.

At 31 years old, White is both a living legend - the "Flying Tomato" who brought the halfpipe event to prominence through the 2000s - and, in spite of his distinct red locks, a veritable graybeard in what has historically been a young person's sport. At PyeongChang 2018, White hopes to re-establish his golden dominion over men's halfpipe, picking up where he left off in Vancouver after a surprise fourth-place finish at Sochi four years ago.

To do so, White must fight back against gravity and the unconquerable march of Father Time, sport's lone undefeated combatant. Even as the betting favorite in this year's event, this is gearing up to be White's toughest test yet.

White will be one of 29 men competing in the halfpipe program at Phoenix Snow Park, roughly 50 kilometers west of the Olympic Village. The field includes 20 snowboarders who participated at Sochi four years ago. Although White's name undoubtedly radiates the most celebrity wattage, there will be no shortage of worthy opponents vying for the podium when the program starts at 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

Among them are Sochi silver medalist and reigning X Games champ Ayumu Hirano of Japan, Sochi bronze medalist Taku Hiraoka, also of Japan, X Games silver medalist Scotty James of Australia, and X Games bronze medalist Ben Ferguson of the U.S. While none of these men have achieved what White has accomplished since turning pro 18 years ago, they're all boarding at or near the top of their abilities. None will shy away from the bright lights of Phoenix Snow Park.

Beyond the quality field of world-class entrants, age isn't on White's side either. White is the second-oldest participant - only Finland's Janne Korpi (32) is older. On the younger end of the spectrum, five teenagers will be vying for the podium, including 19-year-old phenom Hirano, looking to improve on his second-place finish four years ago.

The biographies of the halfpipe entrants suggest that this is no sport for old men. In fact, the average age of White's competitors is just over 23 years old. The average age of the medalists in men's halfpipe since the event's introduction at Nagano in 1998 is just under 21. No athlete over the age of 25 has ever reached the podium; Switzerland's Iouri Podladtchikov, who withdrew from competition last week due to a head injury, was the oldest men's Olympic halfpipe medalist at just 25 years old when he captured gold at Sochi.

In snowboarder years, 31-year-old White is practically Precambrian.

White isn't just competing against a field of younger athletes, eager to take advantage of any evidence of decline. He's also fighting himself. After hundreds of repetitions in the halfpipe, White's body reacted unpredictably to on an ill-fated run in Cardrona, New Zealand this past October.

"I was working on a new trick, and as I re-entered the halfpipe, I clipped the top. I flew about 22 feet and hit my face at the bottom, and had 62 stitches and I had some bad bruising in my lungs," White explained on the "Today" show.

Bodies can only take so many bone-crunching collisions before athletes begin to question the price of launching themselves through the air at strange angles.

A combination of injuries and a reduced competition schedule in recent years means that White hasn't medalled in either the Olympics or the Winter X Games since 2013.

"Do I really want this?" White contemplated in the wake of his gruesome wipeout, according to TeamUSA.org's Karen Rosen. "Am I pushing something? And then the deeper thing was - Is this a sign? I was trying to find the silver lining in the whole thing. ... I think at the end of the day for me, it was kind of a reality check, just to know myself and go, 'Do you really want to pursue this?' If you think about me stepping back out on the snow, it means that I’m willing to have that happen to me again, so it’s a big commitment."

White's steady decline in international competition since his heights at Vancouver 2010 - not to mention his battered body - didn't elicit much optimism heading into January's Olympic qualifying event. What White did next was the stuff of inspirational sports movies.

Not only did White top his young and hungry competition at Snowmass in Aspen, Colorado, he crushed them, unleashing a flawless YOLO Flip - a switch frontside double-cork 1440 - scoring a perfect score of 100.

"I was almost in tears man. I shed a couple," White said after the historic run, according to The Denver Post's Jason Blevins. "I dug super deep for that. People ask me what my greatest accomplishment is in this sport or my biggest win and, honestly, it’s being in the top level of this sport for this long while it’s ever-changing."

Improbably, White couldn't ask for more momentum heading into what will likely be his final Olympic appearance. While Father Time will eventually come to collect White's athleticism and courage, the high-flying redhead might be on the cusp of shattering the sport's unofficial age barrier.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)