The extreme sport of snowboarding was adopted as an official Olympic sport in the late 1990s. The first Olympic snowboarding events involved high-speed relays on steep slalom courses. As snowboarders continued to progress, the sport began to break into different sub-genres. As of 2011, the Winter Olympics hosts numerous disciplines of snowboarding, including freestyle and superpipe.
1998 Winter Olympics
In 1998, the International Olympic Committee hand-selected top snowboarding pros from across the globe to compete in the first sanctioned events. The snowboarding competitions that were held at the 1998 Winter Olympics were met with an adverse reaction. To the outrage of snowboarders, IOC had given the International Skiing Federation jurisdiction over the Olympic snowboarding events. According to ABC-of-Snowboarding, many pro riders boycotted the games because they felt the International Snowboarding Federation deserved the right to oversee the Olympics.
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Park City, Utah. The Olympic snowboarding events took place over a period of five days. The American team dominated the winner's podium with a total of two gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal. The United States snowboarding team dominated the half-pipe competition with Ross Powers winning the gold medal, Danny Kass capturing the silver and Jarret Thomas taking home the bronze.
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, held in Torino, Italy, hosted numerous snowboarding events, including the parallel giant slalom, half-pipe and boarder cross. The United States snowboarding team dominated the Olympic events once again by winning seven medals. Young gun Shaun White dominated the half-pipe event with his high-flying aerial stunts and won the gold medal. Danny Kass came through once again and captured the silver medal for team USA, and American team rider Hannah Teeter won the gold medal for women's half-pipe.
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, hosted the customary snowboarding events including boarder cross, half-pipe and the parallel giant slalom. Shaun White dominated the show by unleashing a never-before-seen trick known as the double cork 1260. According to "Transworld Snowboarding" magazine, White posted the highest overall score in the qualifiers and then dominated the finals once again to win his second gold medal for the Olympic half-pipe event. The American team took five medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
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