Shaun White is ready for another Winter Olympics, but could make his Summer Olympics debut too (Getty) Two-time gold medalist Shaun White reiterated that he still intends to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics, but he also told NBC’s Ryan Seacrest that the 2020 Summer Games could be a possibility now that skateboarding has been added to the mix.
White, 29, became the face of snowboarding in the 2006 Torino Games when he earned gold in men’s halfpipe and later defended his title in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. But skateboarding wouldn’t be a new venture for “The Flying Tomato.”
He’s a five-time medalist and two-time gold medal winner in vert skateboarding at the X-Games. But the International Olympic Committee hasn’t yet announced what events will be included in the skateboarding program which will make its debut in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“There are different disciplines in skateboarding, so it’s up in the air. If they do vert, that’s my jam,” White told Seacrest on NBC’s*Olympic Late Night.
An athlete competing in both the Summer and Winter Olympics is rare, but not unprecedented. While many athletes in Olympic history have competed in both, only five have ever been able to medal in the Summer and Winter Games.
The most common transition in recent years has been from track and field stars competing in bobsled. American track athletes Lolo Jones and Lauryn Williams both competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics and Williams managed to earn a silver medal.
Eddie Eagan is the only to earn a gold in both, taking home top honors for the United States in boxing in the 1920 Summer Games and bobsled in the 1932 Winter Games.

If vert is included, or if he decides to compete in a different discipline, the biggest challenge standing in the way of White becoming the second person to ever win gold in both seasons is likely the fact that he’ll be a month away from his 34th birthday when the Tokyo Olympics roll around. In February, White told Access Hollywood of his intentions to compete in 2018 and said he’s viewing his age as an advantage.
“It seems easier now, just because I’m more focused,” White said. “I’m more aware of my strengths and weaknesses, and how to practice more consistently.”
For now, the focus for White is on 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he’ll look for a redemption performance after failing to medal in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Then maybe it’ll be time to chase history.