How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?

That exclusive moment that our cameras captured in the first episode were picked up by media outlets around the world and set the stage for what would be a dramatic and emotional comeback en route to his third gold medal.

Objective:

Yahoo Sports has always been a global leader in its coverage of major sporting events around the world. As we headed into our seventh Olympics as a video team we were looking for a way to advance our award winning storytelling by bringing the viewer closer to the action than ever before on our platform. We partnered with Air + Style and teamed up with arguably the biggest U.S. athlete in the 2018 Winter Olympics, Shaun White, to create an all access video series leading up to the PyeongChang games.

Strategy & Execution:

The eight-part documentary series over five weeks chronicled every stage of his journey including the moment he suffered a horrific injury to his face during his pre-season training. White understood the audience and the access he was giving the viewer as he had the foresight to pull out his iPhone and film the most intimate emotions just minutes right after the crash, the intense helicopter ride to the hospital, and the career-threatening moment as he laid in a hospital bed uncertain as what the future held.

In episode seven our cameras were there when he achieved a perfect score and punched his ticket to PyeongChang, followed by the moment he broke down and cried while sharing this on the phone with his mom. White also let the audience into his personal life with girlfriend Sarah Barthel. She is a prominent musician and gave us the rights to use her music during the perfect score episode

Production

• Yahoo Sports
• Go-90
• Air + Style

Credits

Alan Springer
Executive Producer
Yahoo Sports

Alysia Russo
Coordinating Producer
Go90

Dave Finger
Producer
Air + Style

Molly Scott
Coordinating Producer
Air + Style

Ryan Dornbusch
Head of Video, Yahoo Sports
Yahoo Sports

Sarah Crennan
Head of Content, Yahoo Sports
Yahoo Sports

Chris Castallo
Head of Development, Go90
Go90