FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty ImagesShaun White fell short of becoming the first-ever American male Winter Olympian to win three straight gold medals in an individual event on Tuesday in Sochi.
So does this mean that the 27-year-old veteran athlete's career ends in Sochi or will come back for the 2018 games in PyeongChang, South Korea?
"I think so," the San Diego native said on the Today show on Wednesday when asked about coming back for a fourth Olympics. He will be 31 years old if he competes.
The snowboarder finished off the podium in fourth place in the men's halfpipe final—Iouri Podladtchikov from Switzerland was the winner. Ayumu Hirano, 15, and Taku Hiraoka, 18, both of Japan, took home silver and bronze, respectively.
"I thought about it plenty of times, just countless, running it through my head what I could have done," he said about the possibility of standing on top of the podium for a third time at the Olympics. "I'm happy, though. I move on from here. I don't think it makes or breaks my career this one night, but definitely a disappointment."
He continued: "I've dealt with this a lot when I was younger, just coming up in the ranks of the sport. It feels like old times I guess, but I've learned a lot from it."
White spoke about his fall during his first run and said he "made a desperate attempt" to salvage it and that he was feeling immense pressure due to the difficulty of the halfpipe course. He said, "it was a tough night for everyone."
White expressed his appreciation for his fans, who cheered at the prospect of his return in 2018.
"I need everybody now more than ever so, yeah, thank you guys," he said.
Be sure to tune in to our coverage from Sochi on E!
(Today and E! are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)