Olympic Men's Halfpipe Schedule Unchanged After Slushy Course Heavily Criticized

The men's Olympic snowboarding halfpipe qualification round will begin at 5 a.m. ET Tuesday as originally planned.

Earlier Tuesday, officials at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park had posted a change to the schedule. 

There will be two qualifying heats followed by the semifinals at 10 a.m. ET, with the top 12 riders advancing to the final at 12:30 p.m. ET. 

Rising temperatures have wreaked havoc with the halfpipe during training.

Danny Davis of the U.S. said Monday the run needed a lot of work while 2006 gold medalist Hannah Teter, who will compete in the women's contest on Wednesday, called the halfpipe "crap."

Temperatures were expected to rise well above freezing Tuesday afternoon, worsening already slushy conditions that could play a role in Shaun White's bid for a third straight gold.

"It's nothing we haven't dealt with before at competitions," White said of the course after training Monday. "It's just hard when it's the Olympics."

White would be the first U.S. man to win three straight gold medals at a Winter Games and would join speed skater Bonnie Blair as only the second American overall. Just seven athletes have won three straight in an individual Winter Olympics sport.

The snowboarding star said he was feeling "antsy" about the competition.

"I go up and down," White said Monday in videos provided to The Associated Press. "I'm excited, then I'm not excited because I'm, not nervous, but just kind of antsy. And it builds and snowballs into other things, and it's just a lot of mixed feelings rolled up into one. It's the day before the big day."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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