It's now unclear if Mark McMorris will be able to compete in what would be his fourth Olympics.
Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris crashed on Wednesday night and had to be stretchered off the course during big air training ahead of the Milan Cortina Games.
It's unclear what happened exactly, but the Canadian snowboard team described the crash as “heavy” in a statement. Specifics of McMorris' condition are not yet known, either.
“Snowboarder Mark McMorris had a heavy crash this evening during big air training,” the team said in a statement on social media. “Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Snowboard staff are attending to him. We will provide more information as it becomes available.”
The 32-year-old is making his fourth Olympic appearance for Canada. Qualifying for the big air competition is set for Thursday night, one day before the opening ceremony. It’s unknown if McMorris will be able to compete anymore.
McMorris has won three bronze medals in his Olympics career. He claimed third in slopestyle in each of the past three Olympics, and he finished in 10th in the big air competition in both the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018 and the Beijing Olympics in 2022. He has won four of his 12 X Games gold medals in the big air competition, too, which was only added to the Olympics in 2018. In the big air competition at the Olympics, riders take off from a ramp that is more than 165 feet tall.
McMorris, per the CBC, suffered life-threatening injuries after he slammed into a tree during a backcountry ride in 2017. That resulted in him having a rod placed in his leg, a plate in his arm and another plate in his jaw. Despite that and other significant injuries, McMorris said last month that he felt he was in good health entering these Games.
The men’s big air final is set for Saturday night at the Livigno Snow Park. Qualification for the men’s slopestyle will start on Monday, Feb. 16.
Category: General Sports
