Snowboarding tricks keep evolving getting more and more challenging as the sport progresses making it tough for those snowboarders in competition to keep pace with the new standard. This new standard, dubbed the double-cork is definitely good reason for categorizing snowboarding as an extreme sport. Rightfully so, its an extremely difficult trick. To describe it, double-corks are two diagonal flips, or off-axis rotations. To picture it, try tossing up a wine bottle cork into the air with a jerk in your wrist as you release it allowing the cork to flip diagonally twice. Watch the double-cork in all its glory as Shaun White nails it to perfection in this clip.
If you are a snowboard enthusiast and haven’t heard of Shaun White then presumably you’ve been hiding under a rock. This guy is an icon in the world of snowboarding not just nationally, but globally. In the clip above, you may have noticed he’s added a bit of flavor of his own. In addition to the double-cork, as if it wasn’t hard enough already, he also does a 1080 grab. So to recap, while he flips diagonally twice (double-cork), he simultaneously executes three full spins (1080 degrees) while grabbing his board. There’s definitely a WOW factor involved when watching this guy perform. Most will agree that calling his performances amazing won’t even suffice…more like extraordinary.
This ultra-difficult trick will set the tone in this upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and those riders that haven’t included it in their bag of tricks will have to settle for Silver or Bronze. Essentially, the Gold will belong to the master of the double-cork.
