Shaun White is back. And so is his helmet.
The iconic American snowboarder who missed the podium in 2014, finishing fourth, won gold in the Olympic halfpipe final at Pheonix Park on Wednesday making him the 100th gold medal in Winter Games history for the U.S.
White threw down an epic first run scoring an impressive 94.25. Then, he threw away his helmet — taking it off and tossing it high into the crowd as he pumped his arms in the air to celebrate.
Then he quickly yelled: "I'm going to need that back!"
The crowd was happy to oblige.
The snowboarder, known affectionately as "The Flying Tomato" with his shock of red hair and ability to seemingly defy gravity over and over, came back to PyeongChang from a fall during training in New Zealand that required more than 60 stitches to his face.
"I got so jacked at the bottom, I threw my helmet," White told fellow competitors afterward as they congratulated him on the run.
White became the first snowboarder to win three Olympic golds, with his first coming 12 years ago in Torino. It's also the fourth gold for snowboarders at these games, following wins by Chloe Kim, Red Gerard and Jamie Anderson.
