LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris appeared to have no injuries suffered during his stay in Italy or a schedule change that would affect his slopestyle qualifying as he finished third among 29 competitors on Sunday, giving himself a chance for a fourth Olympic medal.
McMorris will be joined by 2018 champion Red Gerrard and 2022 silver medalist Su Yiming in the final, currently scheduled for Wednesday.
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Also in what looks like a 12-man field are eight-time X Games champion Marcus Kleveland, 17-year-old American Ollie Martin and Dane Menzies, a top qualifier from New Zealand, an emerging country in action sports.
However, most of the news in slopestyle has centered around McMorris and the schedule changes.
The 32-year-old Canadian, a three-time bronze medalist in the event, was eliminated from the qualifying round of the big air on February 4 after a serious fall. He was cleared to play this week and is scheduled to start on Monday. But with a major storm approaching, organizers postponed the qualifiers by a day, disrupting plans and costing everyone a day of training.
“It improves the level of riding,” McMorris said. “But my mentality is, as many days as possible, the better. But I trained hard these two days and the team doctors believe I’ve passed all the tests and I know I can ride at full strength.”
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He capped off the dramatic run with an early hard landing of a 1620, a triple cork and another 1440 that moved him into the top three.
For Gerrard, it’s a different story.
He came off the rail early on his first run and nearly dropped his hands after landing on his second jump. Still, both trips involved a series of difficult tricks that were otherwise clean, leaving Gerrard shaking his head when points emerged in the second round. He ended up shooting a 70 to finish 11th, which forced him to work his butt off from line to line in qualifying.
Gerrard was not happy with the judging at the last Olympics, when the panel failed to notice a mistake by eventual gold medalist Max Parrot that kept the American from the podium. He said Sunday’s qualifying goal would make him reconsider plans for the final.
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“Definitely have to revisit the top of the course, which is the rails,” he said. “Try to look at other people’s runs and see what they like. Maybe do a little more homework.”
How much time will there be for homework? It’s anyone’s guess.
The final is scheduled for Wednesday, but a storm is coming. Slopestyle is the most weather-sensitive snowboarding event – it’s difficult to gain speed or judge jumps when there’s wind and snow – and riders now know they may have to change plans without notice.
“I found out in the sauna,” New Zealand’s top-ranked Menzies said of the changes in qualifying. “I was doing some stretches and I was like, ‘Oh, here we go. I guess we need to get this done.'”
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics