A snowboarding legend, Shaun White has limited experience on the World Cup circuit -- through the 2004-05 season he had competed in just two events. But the 19-year-old has had plenty of success in the Winter X Games, with six career medals, including four golds. Also a pro skateboarder, White was the first athlete to compete in both the winter and summer versions of the X Games. Four years ago, at just 15, White attempted to qualify for the Salt Lake Games in halfpipe, but was unsuccessful.

After making his Winter X Games debut in 2000, White took part in his first Summer X Games in 2003, when he finished sixth in the vert skateboarding competition. Last June, he stunned the skateboarding world with his first professional title in the vert competition at the Panasonic Open in Louisville, Ky. The win prompted BMX star Dave Mirra to point out to veteran skateboarders Bucky Lasek, Bob Burnquist and Andy Macdonald, "Dudes, you just got beat by a snowboarder." And at the 2005 Summer X Games, White claimed his first medal at that event, a silver in the vert competition.

With a trampoline and a skateboard ramp in the backyard, White also played soccer growing up. He started skiing on his family's trips to Mammoth, Calif., but by the time he was 6, he wanted to snowboard. Resort rules, however, said boarders had to be 12 to take lessons, so his father, Roger, took the lesson to learn how he could get on a snowboard with Shaun. Meanwhile, Shaun rode up the mountain with his older brother, Jesse, and came down the hill on an oversized board. The next year, when he was 7, White entered (and won) his first amateur contest, competing in the 12-and-under age group. The result earned him a wild card entry into the national championships, where he placed 11th. The following year, White won the first of five national titles.

White's snowboarding ambition didn't make for much financial flexibility early on, though, as his parents estimate it cost the family $20,000 a year. The Whites would drive six hours to Mammoth every Friday in their 1964 Econoline van, nicknamed "Big Mo," and instead of paying for a hotel room, Shaun, Roger, Jesse, Cathy (his mother) and Kari (his sister) would sleep in the van, cooking meals on a stove in the back. Should they happen to go out to eat -- a rarity -- everyone would drink water to save money. But as Shaun got older, the family started staying at Super 8 motels. He turned pro at age 13.

At the 2004 Winter X Games, White was on the verge of possibly winning double gold, having already won the slopestyle event and finishing first in the halfpipe qualifying run. But after that run, he had some pain in his right knee, ended up missing the halfpipe final, and had to undergo arthroscopic surgery. Following the operation, White came back too soon and suffered a severe bone bruise, which forced him to endure six months of rehab. The worst thing about the injury, he says, was that rehab because he hates working out and had never lifted a weight before.

--NBC