Plenty of Canadians qualify directly for the snowboard slopestyle final—and Mark McMorris isn’t one of them
Marc McMorris, from Regina, Sask., soars to victory in the men’s World Cup snowboard slopestyle event in Canmore, Alta. on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
The Olympics have started already? Yup. Although the opening ceremonies aren’t until tomorrow, a tight schedule meant snowboarders took to the hill on Thursday to compete in an inaugural event for the Winter Olympics: Snowboard Slopestyle.
Great day for Canadian snowboarders, except Mark McMorris
Much of the talk yesterday surrounded U.S. snowboard legend Shaun White pulling out of the event at the last minute, which opened the door for more Canadians to medal. Maxence Parrot and Sebastien Toutant both nailed their first day on the slopes to qualify directly for the finals.
Got 1st in the Olympic Qualis!! Scored a 97.5!! So stoked!! pic.twitter.com/3JpxTK7ElH
— Maxence Parrot (@MaxParrot) February 6, 2014
Well that was a good Olympic qualification today!! Made it straight to Final !! #boyyaa #canada #sochi2014 pic.twitter.com/4QBwimlR02
— Sebastien Toutant (@SebToots) February 6, 2014
The same can’t be said for Canada’s Mark McMorris, the heavy favourite to win gold for Canada in this event at Sochi.
Canada’s Mark McMorris, who broke his rib at #XGames, took a fall in his first run of this heat. receives score of 29.50 #Sochi2014
— Marlowe Hereford (@mwhereford) February 6, 2014
So the big story so far with men’s slopestyle qualifications over? Mark McMorris has a near perfect second run… http://t.co/IZ9uQU9pIY — Snowboard Canada (@SnowboardCanada) February 6, 2014
NOO Mark is only 7th!! HOW HE WAS SO AWESOME! whatever he’s gonna slay anyway! GO MARK MCMORRIS! #sochi2014 #slopestyle — rip philip (@shaileneebeanie) February 6, 2014
Mark McMorris after failing to qualify for slopestyle final: “I’m happy with the way I rode but the judges weren’t.”
— Todd Behrendt (@ToddBehrendt) February 6, 2014
The good news for McMorris is he’s not out of medal contention just yet, but will have to go through the semi-final run first.
#TeamCanada slopestyle: @MaxParrot @SebToots to the final. @markmcmorris & Charles Reid to semis. #WeAreWinter pic.twitter.com/SN0W3BwbkP
— CDN Olympic Team (@CDNOlympicTeam) February 6, 2014
Spencer O’Brien through to the final
On the women’s front, Spencer O’Brien finished third in qualifying to advance to the finals.
Beauty run from @spencerobrien in women’s #SlopeStyle. @CDNOlympicTeam representing on the snow today. #Sochi2014 #WeAreWinter
— Kyle Weagant (@Kyle_Weagant) February 6, 2014
Heat 1 done: the top four (Isabel Derungs, Torah Bright, Spencer O’Brien, Enni Rukajarvi) straight to the final. Everyone else to the semi.
— Shawn Smith (@theshawnsmith) February 6, 2014
Canadians may not be able to watch it all unfold in the early hours at home, but fellow Olympians are soaking it all in.
#TeamCanada curlers checking out slopestyle in our media room prior to their presser. #WeAreWinter pic.twitter.com/MHSZAEjEXG
— CDN Olympic Team (@CDNOlympicTeam) February 6, 2014
Maclean’s dispatches from Sochi:
Ken MacQueen: Inside Vladimir Putin’s ‘Ring of Steel’
Charlie Gillis: For Heaven’s sake, let these Games begin
Just how expensive is Sochi compared to past Games
Russia has reportedly invested approximately $50 billion for the Sochi Games—by far the most expensive Olympics in history—and journalists were quick to notice the, ahem, less than regal rooms (unless you like brown tap water and side-by-side toilets). But if you take away Russia’s investment in roads, rail, airport and hotel infrastructure, how does Sochi compare to London 2012 ro Montreal 1976?
We asked Amanda Shendruk to illustrate it for us. Check it out here.
For a full preview from our team in Sochi, check out their video here.
And be sure to follow our team on Twitter for updates on the ground in Russia:
Charlie Gillis: @ChasGillis
Ken MacQueen: @kmqyvr
Jonathon Gatehouse: @JonGatehouse
And for all our Sochi coverage, click here.