Mark McMorris
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Personal information | |
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Full name | Mark Lee McMorris |
Nickname(s) | Sparky,[1] McLovin',[2] McRib[3] |
Nationality | Canadian |
Born | Regina, Saskatchewan | 9 December 1993
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[4] |
Weight | 72 kg (159 lb)[4] |
Website | www |
Sport | |
Country | Canada |
Sport | Snowboarding |
Events |
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Turned pro | 2010 |
Medal record |
Mark Lee McMorris (born 9 December 1993) is a Canadian professional snowboarder who specializes in the slopestyle and big air events. He was the first person ever to complete a backside triple cork 1440 and won back-to-back gold medals in the 2012 and 2013 Winter X Games in the slopestyle event.[6] He competed in the slopestyle event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where he won a bronze medal, Canada's first medal in those Games. He competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, where he won a bronze medal, only 11 months after a snowboarding accident with near-fatal internal injuries.[7]
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/LG_Snowboard_FIS_World_Cup_%285435937622%29.jpg/200px-LG_Snowboard_FIS_World_Cup_%285435937622%29.jpg)
McMorris competed at his first FIS Snowboard World Cup during the 2009–2010 season placing eighth in the big air event in Quebec City.[8] He followed up with a World Cup victory in slopestyle in Calgary.[9]
At the Winter X Games XV in Aspen, Colorado, he won a silver medal in the slopestyle competition finishing behind fellow Canadian Sebastien Toutant.[10] He also won the 2011 World Snowboard Tour's Air & Style competition beating out Peetu Piiroinen, Werner Stock, and Nils Arvidsson in the final.[11] McMorris is the first person in X Games history to score a 98.00 in snowboard slopestyle.[12] McMorris achieved the score while defending his title in his final run at the 2013 Winter X Games.[13] The medal had completed a double podium performance at the games where McMorris had also won the silver with his performance in the big air competition. This all occurred just several days after he won his first ever medal when he placed second at the 2013 FIS World Championships.[14]
2014 Winter Olympics
In the 2014 Winter X Games, McMorris placed 2nd behind fellow Canadian Max Parrot in the Slopestyle event. McMorris' hopes of a 3rd consecutive gold medal were dashed when he tripped on the rails, crashed, and fractured a rib during the 3rd and final run of the event. Despite the injury, McMorris still competed in the Winter Olympics in Sochi.[15] As McMorris arrived in Sochi, he said he felt remarkably good, stating, "The amount of progress I've made since I broke my rib on Saturday has been unexplainable. I didn't believe I could be on this path, going this fast. At the same time, walking around an airport is different than going snowboarding and taking impact."
At the Olympics, McMorris fell on his first qualifying run and failed to make it through directly to the final with his score on his second run. In the semis he managed to put up one of the top four scores in order to qualify for the final. There, he again fell on his first attempt. McMorris' second run was good enough to put him on the podium and win bronze. It was a tough couple of weeks for McMorris with his injury and a flood of different emotions. He said that "To get on the podium is just a dream come true. I can't explain this. I've just been through a roller coaster over these last few weeks."[16]
Injuries
In February 2016 McMorris broke his right femur at Shaun White's Air + Style Big Air in Los Angeles. He attempted to do a frontside triple cork 1440, but in his landing his toe edge was caught which caused him to flip and break his femur. He had a long recovery, starting at Fortius Sport & Health in Vancouver. He was back snowboarding in July 2016 in Australia with some friends. A series of four episodes following his recovery was produced by X Games, and aired in October 2016.[17]
McMorris went boarding in the backcountry at Whistler, British Columbia with some friends in late March 2017. He hit a tree and suffered serious, near-fatal injuries,[18] and was in the ICU in Vancouver. His brother, Craig McMorris, spoke to The National shortly after the accident, and described what had happened: "There was a fog [...] coming in and out, and Mark unfortunately drifted a little bit too far left, [...] we're hitting a feature, and he goes a little too far left and ends up in a clump of trees."[19] McMorris suffered a fractured jaw, a fractured left arm, a ruptured spleen, a pelvic fracture, rib fractures and a collapsed left lung. He underwent two successful surgeries.
2018 Winter Olympics
McMorris subsequently returned to snowboard competition and competed for Team Canada during the 2018 Winter Olympics, only eleven months after his accident.
McMorris placed third in Men's Slopestyle behind fellow Canadian Max Parrot and the American gold medalist Red Gerard, earning his second Olympic bronze medal.[20]
Personal life
McMorris was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is the son of Saskatchewan provincial politician Don McMorris, a grain farmer, and Cindy McMorris, a nurse.[6][21] His older brother, Craig McMorris, is also a professional snowboarder.[22] McMorris attended Dr. Martin LeBoldus High School.[23] McMorris also competed in wakeboarding before devoting himself to snowboarding. He has several tattoos, including one of sheaves of wheat representing the province of Saskatchewan.[21]
References
- ^ Snowboarder (2015). "2016 #1 Men's Rider of the Year Mark McMorris". Snowboarder.
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(help) - ^ Dean, Josh (31 January 2013). "The Next Shaun White?". Rolling Stone (1175): 24.
- ^ DiManno, Rosie (8 February 2014). "Canadian Olympian Mark McMorris finds bronze mixed blessing". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
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(help) - ^ "Mark McMorris Profile – Bio". ESPN. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012.
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Regina snowboarder wows fans with trick". CBC.ca. 8 March 2011. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Scott Stinson (6 February 2018). "The journey of Olympic snowboarder Mark McMorris: From a hospital bed to Pyeongchang". National Post. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ^ "Korpi caps gold weekend at World Cup". Postmedia News. 24 January 2010. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Meyers, Sean (30 January 2010). "McMorris wins slopestyle gold". Postmedia News. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011.
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suggested) (help) - ^ MacDonald, Nancy (1 November 2011). "Canada's queen of the slopes". Maclean's. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Larsen, Melissa (7 February 2011). "TTR 6 Star Billabong Air & Style Innsbruck won by second-place Winter X slopestyle winner Mark McMorris". ESPN. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Slater, Craig (28 January 2013). "Regina snowboarder Mark McMorris wins two medals at Winter X-Games in Aspen". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Mark McMorris wins gold at X Game". CBC Sports. 26 January 2013.
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(help) - ^ "Canada nabs gold, silver in slopestyle events at snowboard worlds". CBC Sports. 18 January 2013.
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(help) In the 2013 Winter X Games he placed first in the slopestyle event, with the first ever backside triple cork 1440 ever thrown in the Winter X Games. He beat out pro snowboarder Shaun White, who placed in 5th during the 2013 Winter X Games - ^ "Mark McMorris faces uphill battle to recover in time for Olympics". CBC Sports. 27 January 2014.
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(help) - ^ Kate Petterson (8 February 2014). "Mark McMorris wins bronze in slopestyle snowboarding". CBC Sports.
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(help) - ^ X Games (8 November 2016). "The Process". X Games.
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(help) - ^ TransWorld SNOWboarding (3 April 2017). "Mark McMorris Backcountry Injury : UPDATE". TransWorld SNOWboarding.
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(help) - ^ CBC Television (27 March 2017). "Mark McMorris suffers serious crash". The National (CBC).
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(help) - ^ "America gets 1st gold medal of 2018 Olympics thanks to 17-year-old Red Gerard". SBNation.com. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ a b Branch, John (15 September 2013). "'Like a Hurricane in the Air': Mark McMorris, Olympic Snowboarding Gold Contender". The New York Times. pp. SP1. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ^ "Feature Footy: Mark and Craig McMorris". Snowboard Canada.
- ^ "LeBoldus Student is snowboard World Cup winner" (PDF). Regina Catholic School Division Director’s Communiqué (16). Regina Catholic School Division: 5. April 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
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External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Use dmy dates from March 2011
- Canadian male snowboarders
- Living people
- 1993 births
- Snowboarders at the 2014 Winter Olympics
- Snowboarders at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Olympic snowboarders of Canada
- Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Olympic bronze medalists for Canada
- Olympic medalists in snowboarding
- Sportspeople from Regina, Saskatchewan
- X Games athletes