White wins Grand Prix; Mitrani claims U.S. championship (+video)

"I realized I was on the lower side of my points, so I had to catch up," said White of the required 100 FIS points required to compete in the Olympic Games.

Most of the competitors weren't aware White was going to compete in this week's Grand Prix until he showed up at qualifying rounds Thursday.

"You never know with Shaun," said Lago, who earned a bronze medal in the 2010 Olympics when White claimed his second Winter Games gold. "He's on his own program. We were all kind of surprised to see him here, too, but he needed to get some points to become eligible for the Olympics."

White, they acknowledge, is about as clutch a performer as there is in any sport.

"You can never count him out obviously," said Lago. "Honestly, it's a battle for second."

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