6 Feb 2014

Snowboarding star says slopestyle course too dangerous

6:38 am on 6 February 2014

The daredevil American athlete Shaun White, snowboarding's biggest star, has pulled out of the slopestyle at the Sochi Winter Olympics because he fears the course is too dangerous.

White made his decision after falling during a training run yesterday and hurt his wrist, and he's going to concentrate on the halfpipe which he won at the two previous Olympics.

The American's withdrawal highlights the real dangers of extreme winter sports which have claimed the lives of two Canadian athletes in the last two years, and caused a number of other critical injuries.