It was a star-spangled day for America at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada yesterday with a trio of home-grown athletes striking gold. “Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn and Shani Davis all struck gold on Wednesday as the United States transformed a bleak Vancouver Olympics into their own winter wonderland with a dazzling show of gravity-defying stunts, brute strength and old-fashioned courage. White showed why he is one of the most recognizable and highest paid athletes in winter sports as he wowed a new generation of Olympic fans at Cypress Mountain with a breathtaking display of somersaults, twists and aerial tricks. The flame-haired 23-year-old from California was so dominant that he had the gold wrapped up after his first run so used his second to unveil a special double backward flip he had never performed in competition before. ‘I just felt like I didn’t come all the way to Vancouver not to pull out the big guns,’ said White, whose cult-status among snowboarders and skateboarders has earned him the nicknames ‘The Flying Tomato’ and the ‘Animal’. A fearless Vonn overcome a painful injury that almost ruined her Olympic dream before it began as she hurtled down a treacherous Whistler mountain course to become the first American to win the women’s downhill, one of the most spectacular and dangerous events at the Olympics.”