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Mark McMorris: Olympic Profile of Canadian Snowboarding Hopeful for Sochi 2014
January 3, 2014
Crash Course: Saskatchewan native Mark McMorris could be a viable slopestyle adversary to Shaun White in Sochi, in what would be his first Olympics. McMorris, 20, has won five X Games medals (three gold, two silver) and took home silver in the 2013 World Snowboarding Championships. He currently stars in the MTV Canada reality show "McMorris & McMorris" about his snowboarding world travels with brother Craig, who also boards competitively.
Athletic Profile: In 2012, McMorris became the first snowboarder to ever complete a backside triple cork 1440 in competition. That's three flips and four 360-degree rotations. He described it to the New York Times as a "hurricane in the air." He has medaled in three X Games (2011-2013), and the Denver Post reported that he is the first person in X Games history to score a 98.00 in snowboard slopestyle.
The Rivalry: Shaun White is the face of snowboarding, but he no longer dominates slopestyle. McMorris is infringing on that territory and in 2011 called out White for his questionable ambassadorship of the sport. "He could definitely represent snowboarding better," McMorris told the The Globe and Mail. "Just be way more cool. He’s so lame. He’s on his own page, he doesn’t hang out with anybody but himself.”
Social Profile: McMorris has nearly 42,000 Facebook fans and over 40,000 Twitter followers. He also has his own website, and is sponsored by Red Bull.
Off the Slopes: When he's away from the snow, McMorris surfs, plays ice hockey, golfs and roots for his beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. The New York Times called McMorris the type that "could make teenage girls swoon and grandparents proud."