Men’s Half Pipe Predictions
Can Shaun White grab another gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics when the finals of the Men’s Half Pipe takes place?
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, Shaun White is the slight favorite, as he is getting odds of -120 to win. Other short odds to win are Scott James (+325) and Ayumu Hirano (+450).
White is a two-time gold medal winner in the Olympics, claiming the gold in 2006 and 2010. He came in fourth in the 2014 games. He also has claimed a number of X games gold medals in his life. He had the top run in qualifying of 98.50.
James is an Australian competitor that had the second-best run in qualifying of 96.75. He comes into these games as the 2015 and 2017 world champion in this event. He also was the 2017 X games winner of the Super Pipe. He is looking to claim his first Olympic medal.
Hirano competes for Japan. He posted a 95.25 in qualifying, which ranked third. Hirano won the silver medal in the 2014 Olympics while winning the 2016 and 2018 X Games in the Super Pipe.
I am going to go with White this time because he is likely competing in his final Olympic Games and wants to go out on top after finishing out of the medal race in 2014. He is really the face of snowboarding, at least in the United States. He looked good in qualifying and is likely to pull out all the stops in the finals to give himself a chance at gold.
WINTER OLYMPICS PREDICTION: SHAUN WHITE -120