February 19, 2010 8:20 AM

Shaun White's Olympic Secret

By
CBSNews
(CBS/ AP)  With a daring, dangerous and spiraling Double McTwist 1260 during a victory lap that will go down as nothing short of epic, snowboarder Shaun White won gold in Vancouver this past Wednesday.

The redheaded shredder, nicknamed "The Flying Tomato" after winning gold at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, scored a 48.4 on the final run, even though he was already assured of defending his Olympic title with a score of 46.8 on his first trip.

White had perfected the move and makes it look almost effortless, but as "60 Minutes" correspondent Bob Simon found out recently, The Flying Tomato puts himself through a unique training regimen.

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White took "60 Minutes" to his very own top-secret training facility, hidden high in Colorado's rugged back country.

Carved right into the mountains at an altitude of about 12,000 feet, White trains at a 500-foot super pipe.

It was built in the San Juan Mountains by one of his sponsors and is accessible only by helicopter. That meansWhite doesn't have to share the facility with anyone else.

Asked why he doesn't train in a more accessible place, like Vail or Aspen, White told Simon, "Ya know, it's just a really competitive sport and to keep your tricks private and to keep them a surprise and show up and do something new that's kinda, gonna blow some people away would be really nice."

For two months at the mountain camp, White taught himself a dizzying array of moves. First, to avoid injury, he tried them out in a foam pit.

60 Minutes visits White's training camp:

Watch CBS News Videos Online


Then he tried them on the unforgiving 22-foot-high walls of his half pipe. The pay-off? A new trick - two flips, three spins, all at once - daring, difficult and until then, undoable.

White admitted he is a little nervous when he works on a new, daring trick. "I mean, you can throw the same things into the foam pit as much as you want, but at a certain point, you still have to get that kind of gall to throw it onto the actual wall of the half pipe," he told Simon.

In the off-season White skateboards, which he learned at his local YMCA, where he still practices today.

"Even though I'm not on my snowboard, I'm still doing the same motions and pumping and pushing and looking around where I want to do my airs and my tricks and it's definitely like a kind of cross trainingm I guess," he explained.

"60 Minutes" joined White and action sports legend Tony Hawk as they performed a cool skateboard trick involving none other than Bob Simon himself.

Shaun and Tony's Skateboard Trick:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

That was before the 2010 Winter Games. Asked then about his chances in Vancouver, White was confident of an Olympic triumph. He told Simon he thought his chances for gold were "pretty good. I'm not gonna lie."

CBS/ AP
Add a Comment
by wheatfield2 February 19, 2010 11:48 AM EST
Congrats to Sean!

But I was horrified when I saw him stand there without his hand on his heart as the Star Spangled Banner played during the medals ceremony. (his teammate did) Is he not proud of his country?
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by wheatfield2 February 19, 2010 2:23 PM EST
This is not true...the athlete who did this was Shani Davis.
by pwgrant February 18, 2010 9:28 PM EST
snowboarding is so lame. I'd rather watch women's ski jumping for more interesting
Reply to this comment
by usadvisor101 February 18, 2010 3:27 PM EST
Wow, he blew everyone away again........not only did he have it already wrapped up in his back pocket....he risk life and limb to best himself and puts up an amazing score. it was killer to watch. what a mind blowing feat !! thanks for the show shaun
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by kickerfilms February 18, 2010 12:16 PM EST
Watch Shaun White in The B - Burton DVD available at Kicker Films -

http://www.kickerfilms.com/the-b-dvd-burton-p-591.html
Reply to this comment
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