Olympic-medal winning snowboarder Shaun White has withdrawn from the slopestyle event at Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
White announced on the TODAY show he would not be competing because he did not want to risk any serious injury. The athlete reportedly jammed his wrist during practice runs and experienced other minor injuries. White explained he is not comfortable with the injury risk associated with slopestyle event and would rather not take any chances.
"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 told TODAY in a statement. "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 a part of."
"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 added.
White later took to his official Facebook account to thanks his fans to his support, reiterating his decision was based on what is best for the team.
"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. I know my fans will have my back on this difficult decision. Thanks for the continued support," White wrote.
White has won two Olympic gold medals for his performance on the half-pipe, one in the 2006 Olympics in Turin and the second in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics will begin with the opening ceremonies on Feb. 7.