US snowboarder Shaun White to retire after the Beijing Winter Olympics

American snowboarder Shaun White, who became the face of the sport by winning three gold medals, said on Saturday the Beijing Olympics would be his last snowboarding competition and that he would retire from all contests.

"I think this will be my, well this will be my last competition too, which is pretty special," White, 35, told a news conference.

White, competing at his fifth Olympics here, had already said Beijing would be his last appearance on the Olympic stage.

White, who won halfpipe golds at the 2006, 2010 and 2018 Games, said knee and back issues had lingered, forcing him to pull out of competitions and miss training.

"It's this and it's that, all these things are major things that brought me to this conclusion," he said.

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White is the oldest member of the United States snowboarding team, and has already secured his legacy, having also won medals at every Winter X Games since 2002. 

He said he was still in Beijing to compete, though, explaining that he had been visualising the runs he would put down during the events next week.

White said he was "enjoying every moment" of being in Beijing.

He will be in action on Friday in the halfpipe, looking to add a fourth Olympic gold medal to his collection.