Aspen, CO – When the X Games gets underway in Aspen today, one particular red-headed fan favorite will be noticeably absent.

White, who finally made the Olympic cut with wins in both Slopestyle and Halfpipe this past weekend in the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, Calif., has now determined after a week of waffling that his time will be better spent training for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, next month.

“I’ve been competing in the X Games since I was 13 years old, they are a huge part of why I am where I am and they are vital to the sport. Unfortunately, when I arrived at the mountain and looked over the schedule, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to complete the kind of training I know I need in order to prepare for Sochi,” White, 27, told X Games promoter ESPN on Wednesday after training in the X Games superpipe at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colo. “It’s an incredibly tough decision for me and it’s not something I take lightly.”

White’s trophy case already contains two Olympic gold medals, earned in snowboard halfpipe in 2006 and again in 2010.  He’s taken home no fewer than 13 Winter X Games gold medals, eight in halfpipe and five in slopestyle, vaulting the Carlsbad, Calif. native into the title of the event’s most decorated athlete.

White has been saddled with ankle and shoulder injuries throughout the Olympic qualification process, and has taken two hard falls in competition recently.