Mark McMorris

Mark McMorris

McMorris at the 2012 Camp of Champions
Personal information
Nickname(s) McLovin',[1] McRib[2]
Nationality Canadian
Born (1993-12-09) 9 December 1993
Regina, Saskatchewan
Residence Regina, Saskatchewan[3]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[4]
Weight 72 kg (159 lb)[4]
Website www.markmcmorris.com
Sport
Country Canada
Sport Snowboarding
Event(s)
  • Big Air
  • Slopestyle
Turned pro 2010
Medal record
Olympic Games
2014 Sochi Slopestyle
World Championships
2013 Stoneham Slopestyle
Winter X Games
2012 Aspen Big Air
2012 Aspen Slopestyle
2013 Aspen Slopestyle
2015 Aspen Slopestyle
2015 Aspen Big Air
2016 Aspen Slopestyle
2011 Aspen Slopestyle
2012 Tignes Slopestyle
2013 Aspen Big Air
2013 Tignes Slopestyle
2014 Aspen Slopestyle
2016 Aspen Big Air

Mark McMorris (born 9 December 1993) is a Canadian professional snowboarder who specializes in the slopestyle and big air events. He was the first 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.[5] 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.

Career

McMorris at a FIS World Cup event in Quebec City.

McMorris competed at his first FIS Snowboard World Cup during the 2009–2010 season placing eighth in the big air event in Quebec City.[6] He followed up with a World Cup victory in slopestyle in Calgary.[7]

At the Winter X Games XV in Aspen, Colorado, he won a silver medal in the slopestyle competition finishing behind fellow Canadian Sebastien Toutant.[8] He also won the 2011 World Snowboard Tour's Air & Style competition beating out Peetu Piiroinen, Werner Stock, and Nils Arvidsson in the final.[9] McMorris is the first person in X Games history to score a 98.00 in snowboard slopestyle.[10] McMorris achieved the score while defending his title in his final run at the 2013 Winter X Games.[11] 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.[12]

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.[13] Despite the injury, McMorris still competed in the Winter Olympics in Sochi.[14] 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."[15]

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 semi's 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]

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.[5][17] His older brother, Craig McMorris, is also a professional snowboarder.[18] McMorris attended Dr. Martin LeBoldus High School.[19] 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.[17]He has been dating Coco Ho, pro surfer since 2012.

References

  1. ↑ Dean, Josh (31 January 2013). "The Next Shaun White?". Rolling Stone (1175): 24.
  2. ↑ DiManno, Rosie (8 Feb 2014). "Canadian Olympian Mark McMorris finds bronze mixed blessing". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "Mark McMorris Profile – Bio". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2012-07-20.
  4. 1 2 "Profile". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
  5. 1 2 "Regina snowboarder wows fans with trick". CBC.ca. 8 March 2011. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011.
  6. ↑ "Korpi caps gold weekend at World Cup". Postmedia News. 24 January 2010. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011.
  7. ↑ Meyers, Sean (30 January 2010). "McMorris wins slopestyle gold". Postmedia News. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011.
  8. ↑ MacDonald, Nancy (1 November 2011). "Canada's queen of the slopes". Maclean's. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "Mark McMorris wins gold at X Game". CBC Sports. 26 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "Canada nabs gold, silver in slopestyle events at snowboard worlds". CBC Sports. 18 January 2013. 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
  13. ↑ Colin Bane. "Mark McMorris breaks rib". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  14. ↑ "Mark McMorris faces uphill battle to recover in time for Olympics". CBC Sports. 27 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Mark McMorris, snowboarder, feels "pretty good" despite broken rib". CBC Sports. 31 January 2014.
  16. ↑ Kate Petterson (8 February 2014). "Mark McMorris wins bronze in slopestyle snowboarding". CBC Sports.
  17. 1 2 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.
  18. ↑ "Feature Footy: Mark and Craig McMorris". Snowboard Canada.
  19. ↑ "LeBoldus Student is snowboard World Cup winner" (PDF). Regina Catholic School Division Director’s Communiqué. Regina Catholic School Division (16): 5. April 2012. Retrieved 30 Jan 2015.
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