Defending gold medalist Red Gerard of the USA was off to a strong start, but a disappointing third run left the door open for Parrot, Yiming, and McMorris to knock him off the podium. Photo: NBC/YouTube Screenshot
Yes, the 2022 Beijing Olympics are on and things have gotten heated right form the get go in the snowboarding events.
Last night, the men’s snowboard slopestyle went down on the Great Wall-themed course in Zhangjiakou, China, and it was a nail-biter until the very end. When the snow settled, Max Parrot of Canada had nabbed gold, followed by Su Yiming of China, and Mark McMorris, also from Canada, who knocked defending champion Red Gerard of the USA off the podium completely.
This run from Max Parrot to give Canada its first-ever gold in snowboard slopestyle at the #WinterOlympics was so clean:
🎥 @NBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/5nOkPXjhtX
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 7, 2022
Three years ago, less than a year after winning silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Max Parrot was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a cancer that affects the body’s lymph nodes. “I went through hell,” said Parrot. “It was the first time I ever put my snowboard in the closet. I felt like a lion in a cage.” Last night, Parrot proved that he has fully recovered with a 90.96 run that earned him his first slopestyle gold, and the first for Canada in slopestyle as well.
Right behind Parrot, with an 88.70 was 17-year-old Su Yiming of China, a rising star in the sport. He became the first Chinese snowboarder to medal in the Olympics, winning silver. And with the biggest trick of the event, a triple cork 1800, I’m sure we’ll be hearing plenty more from this youngster in the years to come. “He’s so damn good,” said Mark McMorris of Yiming, after winning bronze. “He became a man and definitely has some height now and he’s strong and he’s riding at an incredible level. I’m super proud of him, because he is a true snowboarder. He loves this sport. He’s been around it forever. I’m honored to share the podium with him.”
McMorris had an incredible event himself, using his near-flawless third and final run to score an 88.53 which launched him into third, his third bronze medal in three Olympic games, and knocked the USA’s Red Gerard off the podium. Gerard’s first run was an 83.25 which put him in first place, but he was unable to improve on that score and was forced to watch the likes of Parrot, Yiming and McMorris steal the lead from underneath him. “There’s nothing you can really complain about and I don’t want to be a judge or anything,” Gerard said. “There were a lot of landed runs out there, and it’s hard. But yeah, I would’ve liked to have been up there for sure.”
