Snowboard icon: Sports are great with or without Olympics

FILE - Norwegian snowboard legend Terje Haakonsen sets a new world record in high jump with 9.8 meters at The Oakley Arctic Challenge in Oslo, Norway, in this Friday March 2, 2007, file photo. To all those surfers, rock climbers, skateboarders and, now, break dancers, who dream of taking their act to the Olympics soon, one of history's best snowboarders has a message: Your sports are great with or without the rings. Terje Haakonsen has been delivering that message since before 1998, when snowboarding made its debut at the Olympics to the chagrin of many in the sport. (Morten Holm/NTB via AP)

FILE - Norwegian snowboarder Terje Haakonsen is shown during the halfpipe final of the Masters of ISF Snowboard World Pro Tour in Leysin, Switzerland, in this Sunday, Jan. 14, 1996, file photo. To all those surfers, rock climbers, skateboarders and, now, break dancers, who dream of taking their act to the Olympics soon, one of history's best snowboarders has a message: Your sports are great with or without the rings. Terje Haakonsen has been delivering that message since before 1998, when snowboarding made its debut at the Olympics to the chagrin of many in the sport. (Fabrice Coffrini/Keystone via AP, File)