At Sochi 2014, a trio Canadian snowboarders attacked the slopes of Russia in the first-ever Olympic slopestyle and big air competitions.
Their journeys have since greatly differed, but Mark McMorris, Max Parrot and Sebastien Toutant will each be back for their third Games at Beijing 2022.
“The skill is there. And the veteran wisdom and experience is there as well. … You can’t beat that,” said CBC snowboard analyst Craig McMorris, the older brother of Mark McMorris.
In addition to slopestyle and big air, riders will also compete in halfpipe, snowboard cross and parallel giant slalom events. The first medals in the sport will be awarded in women’s slopestyle on Feb. 6, with events running until men’s big air on Feb. 15.
Each event follows a roughly similar format, with qualification runs cutting down competitors ahead of the final.
The majority of Canada’s medal hopes lie in men’s slopestyle and big air. McMorris is a two-time slopestyle bronze medallist while Parrot took silver in the event in 2018. Toutant won big air gold in Pyeongchang.
And yet there’s a feeling of unrealized potential among the trio, who will be joined by 25-year-old Olympic rookie Darcy Sharpe in Beijing.
Entering Pyeongchang, Mark McMorris had just recovered from a near-fatal crash. Even if he wasn’t just happy to be there, the podium appearance was icing on the cake.
The 28-year-old Regina native currently ranks third in slopestyle and fourth in big air, leaving him right on the cusp of an Olympic medal. He won gold in the former while placing fourth in the latter at the recent X Games, though he’s also the reigning big air world champion.
It all means his expectations may be higher than bronze this time around.
WATCH | McMorris lands X Games slopestyle gold:
McMorris sets X Games record with slopestyle gold
14 days ago
Duration 2:04
Canadian Mark McMorris won the snowboard slopestyle in Aspen to set the winter X Games’ record with 21 medals. 2:04
To prepare for Beijing, Craig McMorris said Sebastien Toutant has been snowboarding less than ever.
“But he’s riding better, which I think as you get older is like kind of a little bit of a secret because it’s so counterintuitive. You think you should snowboard every single day, but sometimes when you get older, you don’t need to.”
Toutant, of L’Assomption, Que., crashed out of slopestyle in Pyeongchang, placing last, before rebounding all the way to the top of the big air podium. The 29-year-old currently ranks fourth in slopestyle after a silver medal at worlds. His big air ranking suffered due to the lack of competition.
WATCH | Toutant takes World Cup gold in Calgary:
Sebastien Toutant captures gold in World Cup snowboard slopestyle competition
1 month ago
Duration 2:39
L’Assomption, Que.’s Sébastien Toutant outperformed the field, placing 1st in the men’s snowboard slopestyle event during the FIS Snowboard World Cup in Calgary. 2:39
Then there’s Parrot, who since his Pyeongchang silver has recovered from cancer in time for another Olympics.
“There’s a lot of lessons I can transfer to snowboarding. … I feel in shape. I feel ready. So of course my goal is to go for the gold, that’s for sure. But I’m really happy as well that if I don’t get the gold, I won’t have any regrets,” Parrot said recently.
Parrot was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma just months after the 2018 Games, but following chemotherapy treatment he returned to competition less than a year later.
He says he’ll be more appreciative of his Olympic journey this time.
“Every time I step on my snowboard, I smile twice as [much] as before,” he said.
WATCH | Parrot snags big air silver at X Games:
Max Parrot wins X Games snowboard big air silver in Aspen
13 days ago
Duration 2:07
Max Parrot of Bromont, Que., claims the silver medal in the men’s snowboard big air event at X Games in Aspen. 2:07
Standing in the Canadians’ way is American Red Gerard, the current big air points leader and reigning Olympic slopestyle champion. Craig McMorris pointed to Gerard’s fellow American Dusty Henrickson as “an absolute gold-medal threat.” Norway’s Markus Kleveland also lingers with a top-seven ranking in both disciplines.
On the women’s side, Quebec City’s Laurie Blouin took slopestyle silver in 2018 following a training crash that nearly left her unable to compete.
“Going into Beijing, I just hope I’m not going to repeat what I did in practice, but I want to repeat the medal for sure,” Blouin told CBC Sports.
Blouin, 25, said she’s entering these Olympics the same way she would any other contest. And she’s unbothered by the pandemic-induced restriction on family and friends on site — she didn’t have any in Korea four years ago either, as she says it creates too much stress.
WATCH | Blouin bags slopestyle bronze in Aspen:
World champion Laurie Blouin wins X Games snowboard slopestyle bronze
15 days ago
Duration 3:20
2017 snowboard slopestyle world champion and 2018 Olympic silver medallist Laurie Blouin of Stoneham, Que., won bronze for the second year in a row at the X Games in Aspen, Colo. 3:20
Regardless, she’s excited to be an Olympian once again.
“It means a lot. It’s pretty big to represent your country. It’s nice to wear the Canadian flag and Maple Leaf. I’m proud to be Canadian and proud to ride for Canada.”
The women’s field is deep, with returning gold medallist Jamie Anderson (U.S.) and Anna Gasser (Austria) joined by the likes of Japan’s Reira Iwabuchi and Kokomo Murase.
Halfpipe
International stars should dominate halfpipe discussion — a pair of Americans, in particular.
Chloe Kim burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old in Pyeongchang, winning a worldwide audience with both her tricks on the course and her food-related tweets during competition.
Wish I finished my breakfast sandwich but my stubborn self decided not to and now I’m getting hangry
Kim went on to win gold, following in the footsteps of compatriot Shaun White, “The Flying Tomato” who took gold at 19 in 2006.
White would add two more gold medals after that, and heads into his fifth Olympics in Beijing ranked ninth.
Canada may be hoping for some teenage magic of its own, as 16-year-old Brooke D’Hondt — the youngest member of Team Canada — hits the slopes in China.
Qualifications for both women and men occur on Feb. 9. Women’s medals will be handed out the following day, while the men’s podium will be established one day after that.
Snowboard cross
Eliot Grondin was in D’Hondt’s position in Pyeongchang as the youngest member of Canada’s contingent at 16.
He placed just 36th in his Olympic debut, but Grondin has since evolved into a legitimate medal threat after taking bronze at the most recent world championships and gold at the world juniors.
Grondin, of Sainte-Marie, Que., currently ranks fourth in World Cup standings thanks to two podium appearances.
WATCH | Grondin snares World Cup silver:
Éliot Grondin earns silver in World Cup snowboard cross competition
2 months ago
Duration 4:58
Sainte-Marie, Que.’s Éliot Grondin placed 2nd place in the men’s snowboard cross event at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in Cervinia, Italy. 4:58
Canada’s top performers in the 2018 event, Kevin Hill (eighth) and Zoe Bergermann (13th) will also compete in Beijing.
Canadians had taken medals in each of the previous three Olympics, with Dominique Maltais earning 2006 bronze and 2014 silver around Maelle Ricker’s 2010 gold. Mike Robertson took silver for the men in 2010.
Canada’s Tess Critchlow and Audrey McManiman both currently rank in the top 10.
The women’s races take place on Feb. 9, with the men going a day later.
Parallel giant slalom
Canada has six athletes competing in the event, with four just added following an appeal.
Megan Farrell, ranked 21st among the women, is the country’s best hope for a medal in an event that serves as snowboarding’s answer to alpine skiing.
The entire competition will be played out on Feb. 8.
WATCH | Marie Philip Poulin golden on and off the ice:
Marie-Philip Poulin is golden on and off the ice as Canada’s captain
11 days ago
Duration 2:51
When it really matters, you want Marie-Philip Poulin to have the puck on her stick. The Canadian women’s hockey captain is known for being clutch under pressure, but for her teammates, it’s her golden character that makes her shine. 2:51
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
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