Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Top Moment of the Day – 11 February: Shaun White bids an emotional fina

The three-time gold medallist and defending champion may have finished fourth behind Hirano Ayumu in the men's halfpipe, but his mood was one of gratitude and pride.

It was not to be for defending men’s snowboard halfpipe legend Shaun White on his fifth and final Winter Olympic Games at Beijing 2022.

The 35-year-old American, who has been the shining star of his discipline for well over a decade, finished just shy of the podium after a crash on his final attempt forced him to settle with his second run score of 85.00 on Friday (11 February).

The gold medal went to Hirano Ayumu of Japan with a superb final run of 96.00 ahead of Australia's Scotty James and Jan Scherrer of Switzerland.

Hirano hit a triple cork and a stunning 1440 in his third run and said afterwards, "I did what I wanted to do right at the end. I wasn't able to accept the second run score, but I managed to channel my anger well at the end."

It was only fitting that the man who had dominated the event for so long was there to witness one of the greatest runs in Olympic history.

White never mastered the triple cork, a trick he shelved back in 2013 after one failed attempt landed him in hospital.

At Beijing 2022, however, it was the key to Olympic gold and the old master embraced the new king to signify the passing of the baton.