In an action-packed night at the snowboard halfpipe finals, Shaun White of the USA has blown the competition away winning gold with a huge score of 48.4 in his second run.

White, affectionately known as 'The Flying Tomato', smashed the history books tonight, becoming the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in the halfpipe event.

With his russet locks flowing beside the star-spangled bandana he sports across his face, White careered down the superpipe gaining nearly twice as much air as the other riders.

The crowd got what they came for - a show by one of the biggest showmen going around.

White appeared to cruise through his first run, effortlessly posting 46.8 points on the board, six points clear of his nearest contender, teammate Scott Lago.

"Gosh, all I remember was the last hit," White said. "Everything was such a blur."

The twelve finals competitors pushed themselves to the limit in the second run, chasing White's score and a shot at gold.

When it came time for White to leave the hill on his second run, he already had secured his spot atop the podium, with no other competitor reaching his target.

Peetu Piiroinen of Finland produced a score of 45 on his second run, securing silver, and despite crashing in the second round, Lago's first round score was enough to have him taking home the bronze.

So, sitting in first postition with no more competitors behind him, White already had gold in the bag. There was nothing left for him to do but pull out his stunning best - including his signature move the 'Double McTwist 1260'. When he left the hill, the near 5,000-strong crowd erupted.

"I just felt like I didn't come all the way to Vancouver not to pull out the big guns," White said. "I put down the ticks I've worked so hard on."

With a spectacular production of freestyle snowboarding, White proved that he his leaps and bounds beyond his nearest competitors, securing near perfect tens from all judges.

It may have been the most predicatable gold medal of the Games, but in this writer's opinion it has also been the most entertaining.

Alice Wheeler
AOC - Cypress Mountain