Australian trio Kent Callister, Scotty James and Nate Johnstone take on Shaun White in snowboard halfpipe

AUSTRALIA has three competitors in the snowboard halfpipe, but no matter what they do it’s all about Shaun White.

AUSTRALIA has three competitors in the snowboard halfpipe competition at the Sochi Winter Olympics tonight.

There’s 2011 World Champion Nate Johnstone, a surfie from Sydney’s northern beaches. There’s Melbourne’s Scotty James, dubbed the “Bieber of Sochi” for his hair and rebellious attitude. And there’s Kent Callister, a US-based Aussie whose great uncle invented Vegemite.

Yet no matter what the Aussies do, in a sense this event is all about America’s Shaun White.

White is a phenomenon, the most famous and marketable Winter Olympian of a generation.

He won the past two Olympic halfpipe competitions and is said to be worth $20 million a year.

This ultra-cool dude is also a champion skateboarder and plays in a band that performed at iconic rock festival Lollapalooza. The band is called Bad Things, which may just turn out to be a nasty omen at these Olympics.

Once universally adored, White is suddenly on the nose because of his decision to pull out of the Sochi slopestyle competition and compete solely in the halfpipe.

White withdrew from the slopestyle after taking a nasty tumble and hurting his wrist in training. Americans didn’t think much of that, especially an 18-year-old boarder by the name of Brandon Davis who had been next in line for the Olympics.

“It’s kind of a bummer,” Davis told US media. “I should be there, but Shaun decided he didn’t want to do it. It could have kick-started my career a bit and gotten the ball rolling. But Shaun kind of dropped out like it’s nothing.”

News_Image_File: Shaun White shows why they call him the “Flying Tomato”.

If the reaction from American athletes was a disappointment, there was outright disdain from White’s foreign rivals.

Canadian snowboarder Maxence Parrot was one of many to taunt White.

He tweeted: “Shaun knows he won’t be able to win the slopes, that’s why he pulled out. He’s scared!”

White must indeed be scared, if not of the monstrous slopestyle course that saw several serious crashes this week, then of his legacy.

His original Sochi plan was simple. Win the first ever Olympic slopestyle competition, then back it up in the pipe. Now his entire credibility rests on his performance over 183 metres of perfectly arced Russian snow.

Win, and he’s the Olympic legend who wisely saved himself for his favourite event to pull off an unprecedented three-peat. Lose, and he’s the big head who snubbed his teammates to pursue an impossible dream.

How’s that for high stakes?

There’s a bizarre Australian connection in all of this. In October, White snuck into the NSW ski resort of Perisher to practice away from prying eyes on a private halfpipe built with the remnants of the Australian winter snowpack.

Word on the snowy streets is that White left behind a special halfpipe cutting machine as thanks, which Perisher will use to shape its new Olympic-sized halfpipe next year.

The guy clearly has a heart as big as his bank balance. He also has an engaging and curious personality, which makes him extremely hard not to like.

Yet White’s Australian trip ended in high farce, when his sponsors sent a few minutes of vision of the 27-year-old snowboarder training to news.com.au.

News_Rich_Media: All the highlights from Day Two of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games, headlined by Torah Bright's seventh placed finish in the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle Final.

The footage was meant to be of stock standard tricks. But in an unthinkable mistake, the sponsors sent footage of the secret manoeuvres that White had flown halfway around the world to practice in private. Oops.

None of that was Shaun White’s fault. But it’s the sort of thing that didn’t used to happen to him.

Maybe Shaun White will show he’s still king tonight. Then again, the man known as “The Flying Tomato” before he cut his flaming locks could end up with ketchup on his face.

The Aussies

Kent Callister, 18

His great uncle invented Vegemite, but this Oregon-based former Gold Coaster could be spread a little thinly against hot opposition.

Best career performance: Ninth at the Copper Grand Prix, USA, 2013

News_Image_File: Aussie snowboarder Kent Callister.

Scotty James, 19

Was 15 at Vancouver and has grown 23cm since then, requiring a complete technique revamp. It worked, netting him the overall 2013/14 World Cup halfpipe crown on cumulative points, despite not winning an event. Disappointed with 16th in the slopestyle, but can reach the podium here.

Best career performance: Third in halfpipe at World Cup event in Canada, 2014

News_Image_File: Scotty James in action in the slopestyle at Sochi.

Nate Johnstone, 23

Missed Vancouver through injury, but the northern beaches surfer was snowboard halfpipe world champion in 2011 and is keen to make amends at the Olympics. Only his mother calls him “Nathan”, and she might call him a medallist by tonight.

Johnstone says of White: “He’s like the Michael Jordan, the Kelly Slater of his sport. You just know he’s going to bring everything he’s got. He’s better than everyone, but if I put it all together on the day, who knows?”

Best career performance: First at 2011 World Championships

News_Image_File: Nate Johnstone addresses the media.