Olympic Champion Shaun White Says AI Levels the Playing Field for Athletes

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, known for his snowboarding achievements, reflected on his own career beginnings, noting he lacked the same advantages as many rivals due to his upbringing in San Diego, away from snowy mountains and with limited access to full-time coaches.

White believes that emerging technologies, particularly AI, are now making it easier for athletes to access resources previously available only to a select few. He described AI as "leveling the playing field" and making crucial performance data accessible to a broader range of athletes.

AI has already been integrated into sports analytics. Major League Baseball utilizes an Automatic Ball-Strike (ABS) system, allowing players to challenge umpire calls. Similar automated systems for line and boundary calls are used in tennis, and Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) is implemented in soccer.

For individual athletes, AI can be paired with wearable biosensors to record movements, offering suggestions for form improvement. The International Olympic Committee has also outlined an AI agenda, aiming to incorporate the technology into judging processes. During the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, ski jumpers reportedly used high-speed video and motion analysis to analyze their takeoff timing, aerodynamics, and in-run speed.

Granville Valentine, managing director of AI Sales and GTM for Google Cloud in North America, also spoke at Brainstorm Tech, noting that AI can provide real-time feedback with specific metrics. He mentioned that Google's Gemini can generate precise world models, identifying an athlete's skeletal structure and center of gravity. This allows for the collection and interpretation of vast amounts of data—including velocity, speed, and rotation—which can then be presented to athletes as "human-level coach ups" between runs.

White also sees AI as a tool for extending athletes' careers by preventing injuries. He contrasted current capabilities with his youth, when young athletes would attempt new, potentially career-ending tricks with little to no information on how such movements might strain their bodies. Today, AI can provide projections on physical strain.

Despite the advancements, White affirmed that the inherent risk, spontaneity, and human skill remain integral to sports. He stressed AI's potential to democratize data access and enhance objective judging, while ultimately acknowledging that the passion for the sport endures.

According to Fortune, these discussions took place at the publication's Brainstorm Tech conference.