The Flying Tomato

Instantly recognizable for his shoulder length unkempt red hair, the Italians at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympic Games greeted athlete Shaun White as “Il Pomodoro Volante!” – “The Flying Tomato.” Shaun White indeed flies through the air at heights of 20 feet above the ground with his skilled feats at his dominant sports, snowboarding and skateboarding. This robust and unstoppable athlete actually started out life with a serious problem, a birth defect in his heart. It took two major surgeries before he reached a year old to repair his heart. Yet, this early medical problem has never slowed Shaun down one single bit. Shaun began skiing with his family when he was just four years old. He was such a fearless skier that his Mom put him on a snowboard instead of skis when he was six to slow him down and keep him safe. Shaun excelled at snowboarding, winning his first championship when he was just seven. A company named Burton Snowboards made Shaun custom child-size equipment and he was able to turn into a professional snowboarder when he was thirteen, soaring ever higher. Even before he became a pro snowboarder he was learning new sports. Skateboarding superstar Tony Hawk befriended Shaun and the two athletes, one a seasoned champion and one a youngster, would skateboard together. Soon Shaun was competing in skateboarding events as well snowboarding. For anyone who asserts that the two sports are easy to combine because they both use boards don’t understand the level of unique skills required to be a champion in these two sports. Yet, Shaun White - The Flying Tomato - soared above the rest by winning X Games gold medals in both sports plus being a gold medal Olympic athlete in snowboarding. However, it hasn’t all been an easy and rosy picture for Shaun. “Every time I’ve had a bad performance at an event, I’ve come back more determined and focused to succeed,” Shaun once said to a reporter from USA Today.