2022 Beijing Winter Games odds: Team USA's Shaun White's pursuit of gold in snowboard halfpipe is among best bets from Olympics expert

American snowboarding legend Shaun White nearly missed out on the final, but now he'll go for his fourth gold medal in the men's halfpipe in Thursday night's medal runs at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The 35-year-old, who won his first gold medal at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, fell on his first run but rallied to avoid elimination. He is not considered a favorite and has said this will be the end of his competitive career, but he will be looking to put on a show in his swan song.

The men's snowboard halfpipe medal competition is set to begin at 8:30 p.m. ET, with final runs scheduled for 9:30. White is the top American at +500 in the latest 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics men's halfpipe odds. He is the fourth choice behind Japanese favorite Ayumu Hirano (+250), his countryman Yuto Totsuka (+300) and Australian Scotty James (+350).

Thursday's 2022 Winter Olympics schedule also includes women's 5,000-meter speed skating (7 a.m. ET) and the luge mixed team relay (8:30 a.m.). There are also finals in Alpine combined skiing men's slalom (1:15 a.m. ET) and men's snowboard cross (2:20 a.m.) among the other medal events.  

Before you lock in any of your Beijing Olympics 2022 picks or predictions, you need to see what SportsLine's Olympics expert, Mike Tierney, has to say. (Head over to SportsLine's 2022 Olympics page for more analysis and updates.)

A national sportswriter whose work appears in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Tierney has covered nine Olympic Games in person. For Rio in 2016, Tierney profited big-time. He told readers to bet Over on Team USA's gold medal count (41.5) and Over on Team USA's overall medal count (102.5). The result? 46 golds, 121 medals and two easy cashes.

For the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Tierney hit two of his three predictions: Germany (+200) to win the most gold medals and the United States winning Under 10.5 gold medals (+110). And at last year's Tokyo Games, he correctly predicted the United States would go Over 111.5 total medals (-110).

Now, Tierney has analyzed the upcoming events at Beijing 2022 and identified three best bets. One thing we can share is that the expert is firmly backing favored Germany in the luge mixed team relay (-162). The Germans and Austrians have won 22 of the past 23 world titles, but Germany has dominated in these Olympics. It has won five of the nine medals awarded, and all three gold, in the luge so far. Tierney expects that will continue Thursday morning.

Tierney also has his pick for the men's halfpipe and has another prediction that would pay at more than 4-1! You ABSOLUTELY need to see what he has to say before locking in your picks. 

So, can Shaun White win gold in the men's snowboarding halfpipe? And which athlete would bring a solid plus-money payout in one of Thursday morning's gold-medal events? Join SportsLine right now to find out who you should back, all from the expert who has crushed his Olympic picks!

Tierney's picks and analysis: 

Speed Skating, Women's 5,000 Meters (Thursday, 7 a.m. ET)
Isabelle Weidemann, Canada +500

Let's be clear. Irene Schouten of the Netherlands is the class of this field. She busted a 20-year-old Olympics record to seize gold in the 3,000-meter event. As a result, her odds here (-350) have plunged too far. A lot can go wrong in the longer distance. Weidemann has consistently played second fiddle to Schouten in World Cup events and pocketed a medal in the 3,000. At these generous odds, it is worth seeing if Schouten regresses enough.
Odds: Caesars

Luge, Mixed Team Relay (Thursday, 8:30 a.m.)
Germany (-162)

It was tempting to go with Austria, the second choice at +163, over Germany. The two nations have hogged all but one of the past 23 world titles. Yet the Germans have monopolized the luge in Beijing, raking in all three golds entering the final event. In fact, the runner-up duo in the doubles also represented Germany. Of 50 luge golds handed out in the history of the Games, nearly three-fourths have gone to Germans. Another looms.
Odds: Caesars

Snowboarding, Men's Halfpipe (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.)
Ayumu Hirano, Japan (+250)

A Hollywood ending for Team USA legend Shaun White appears unlikely, and the public does not anticipate one based on his odds of +500. White, 35, did not inspire confidence with a fall on his first qualifying run but did recover on the second. It's not often an athlete who is top-ranked in the World Cup rankings draws healthy odds, so two-time silver medalist Hirano is the cautious pick over countryman Yuto Totsuka (+300) and the Aussie Scotty James (+350). Essentially, it's ABW: Anybody But White.
Odds: DraftKings

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