White finishes 8th, ticket still unpunched for 5th Olympics

By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. (AP) — Shaun White will have to wait at least one more week to get an inside track on a trip to his fifth Olympics after an eighth-place finish at the season’s first qualifying event. The three-time gold medalist could not put together a completely clean run on any of his three trips down the halfpipe at the U.S. Grand Prix. He failed to earn the podium spot that would put him in the best position for the trip to Beijing. Ruka Hirano of Japan won the contest with a run of 89.25 that featured five straight double-cork tricks. Jan Scherrer of Switzerland finished second and Yuto Totsuka of Japan finished third.