Coming off a controversial finish and interview that eventually led to an apology, Canadian snowboarders Max Parrot and Mark McMorris performed quite nicely in their return to Olympic competition on Monday.
Three Canadians will compete for a medal in the men's big air final
Max Parrot, Mark McMorris and Darcy Sharpe are headed to the finals pic.twitter.com/IMotHM6b6H
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 14, 2022
Parrot, who won the gold medal in slopestyle, finished first in qualifying for the Beijing big air competition, while McMorris also booked a spot in the 12-man final (Tuesday, 12 a.m. ET) by placing eighth.
After winning his third consecutive Olympic bronze in slopestyle, McMorris told CBC he felt he delivered the run of the day and would have liked to have a medal of a different colour.
Meanwhile, replays showed that judges missed an error by Parrot when as he grabbed his knee instead of the board on one jump.
This past weekend, McMorris apologized to Parrot in person and also posted his regrets on Twitter.
On Monday, Parrot’s score of 164.75 points was nearly five points ahead of second-place Takero Otsuka of Japan. Redmond Gerard of the United States was third.
Su Yiming of China, who was second in the slopestyle, also reached the big air final by finishing fifth in qualifying. Chinese fans took to social media to blast the judges’ decision from slopestyle, with Su’s coach eventually asking supporters to respect the decision.
A third Canadian, Darcy Sharpe, earned the 12th and final spot in the big air final.
Canada’s Sebastien Toutant, the reigning Olympic champ, had to be helped off the snow after a crash. He did not qualify for the final.
Toutant needed to land a big trick on his third run to crack the top 12, but he slammed into the icy landing attempting a triple cork 1620 — three off-axis flips with 4 1/2 rotations.
The 29-year-old fell on his back, and his head whipped back hard enough to knock his goggles off entirely. He remained down for several minutes before being helped up and walking away.
McMorris and Parrot finished first and second, respectively, in big air at last year’s World Championships.
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