Bouncing back from nasty crash, McMorris cruises into Olympic slopestyle final

LIVIGNO – Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris wasted little time Sunday showing he was back from a nasty crash in big air training.

The 32-year-old from Regina booked his ticket to the slopestyle final at the Milan Cortina Olympics in impressive fashion, finishing third in qualifying.

“Two really solid runs. I’m very happy, very proud of the preparation and the performance,” he said.

Qualifying was shifted to Sunday from Monday because of the threat of poor weather. The women’s medals will be decided Tuesday and the men’s Wednesday.

“More to give,” McMorris said. “Happy to be in the final round. I’m stoked.”

McMorris, who won bronze medals in each of his three previous trips to the games, was only cleared to compete Thursday. His Feb. 4 crash left him with a concussion, pelvic bone bruising and strained abdominal muscles after being stretchered off the course for a hospital visit.

“Honestly I felt pretty strong physically,” he said. “I’m definitely looking forward to a little break. My right quad’s pretty gripped after a three-hour training session, a three-and-a-half-hour training session and then today. But my head felt great and the overall condition of my body is good.”

The men’s qualifying featured 30 riders with the top 12 advancing to the final. They were scored on the best of their two runs with McMorris earning a score of 81.81 on his first effort.

“To land that first run felt amazing,” he said with emotion.

Cameron Spalding also advanced to the final, qualifying fifth with a second-run score of 78.76 after falling on his first run following an errant takeoff.

“I’ve got a couple of things up my sleeve hopefully (for the final),” said the 20-year-old from Havelock, Ont., who won the Crystal Globe as the overall FIS World Cup champion for slopestyle in 2024-25. “I can’t wait. It’s going to be awesome.”

New Zealand’s Dane Menzies topped qualifying at 86.06. Born in Calgary to a Canadian mother and New Zealand father, he grew up in Canmore, Alta., training at Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park, but is now based out of Wānaka, New Zealand.

Norway’s Marcus Kleveland, who overtook McMorris with his second round, qualified second at 81.86.

Canadians Laurie Blouin and Juliette Pelchat both made the women’s final, qualifying ninth and 12, respectively. Defending champion Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand topped the field at 88.08. 

Blouin, who won silver in 2018 in Pyeongchang, rode her first run score of 69.20. 

“It went good,” said the 29-year-old from Quebec City. “Practice (earlier in the day) was a bit of a roller-coaster because I hurt my rib a little bit. But at the end of the day, I’m really proud of myself. I laid down a clean run and at the top I was just soaking in every little moment. I was just happy to be here.”

Pelchat experienced her own roller-coaster of emotions.

After an errant second run, she found herself in 11th place with a first-run score of 68.25. The next skier dropped her to 12th and she had to wait and watch 12 more riders while on the bubble.

“Definitely a stressful position to be in but I really look forward to making the most of the finals and to ride with my teammate Laurie,” said the 21-year-old from Whistler, B.C. “I think it’s going to be super-special and I’m very excited.”

The two women vaulted several fences to celebrate with friends and family after qualification.

There was heartbreak for Eli Bouchard, whose second run score of 69.51 briefly put him into 12th place. He finished 13th, just 12 one-hundredths of a point out of a place in the final.

“I’m happy to show my snowboarding and show who I am and to land a ride in the Olympics … I’m going to do it again in four years,” said the 18-year-old from Lac-Beauport, Que.

While Bouchard’s first run was compromised by an error trying to pull off a difficult trick on one of the top rails, he showed off his signature McBouch trick on the second.

Francis Jobin, who was competing with a shoulder brace after dislocating his shoulder in his final training run before the big air competition, fell twice and finished 29th at 17.80.

The change in schedule, coupled with his injury, did not make for ideal preparations for the 27-year-old from Lac-Beauport.

“I feel like I was really unprepared, unfortunately … It’s definitely a bummer,” he said. “I was expecting more.” 

The 650-metre slopestyle course at Livigno Snow Park, which featured a vertical drop of 165 metres, features rail and jumps with riders judged on the breadth, originality, and quality of their tricks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2025