Snowboarding traditionally at the Olympic Winter Games traditionally tends to get a bad rap. There is a belief that it is a sport that is only for the younger generation. However, I, at 44 years old, is also fascinated my snowboarders for their overall skill and precision during international competition.
Heading into the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, five Canadian snowboarders have genuine chances for winning Olympic medals, with Mark McMorris of Regina, Saskatchewan, Max Parrot of Cowansville, Quebec, Sebastien Toutant of L’Assomption, Quebec, and Laurie Blouin of Stoeham-et-Tewkesbury, Quebec in contention in multiple Olympic events.
McMorris won the bronze medal in the men’s slopestyle at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi and the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. He is entering the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing as the Winter X Games champion. The men’s slopestyle snowboarding World Cup will be on February 6 at 9:54 p.m. MT. McMorris is also the reigning world champion in the men’s big air from the 2021 World Snowboarding Championships in Aspen. The men’s big air snowboarding World Cup will be on February 14 at 10:45 p.m. MT.
Parrot and Toutant are Olympic medal contenders in slopestyle and big air too. In big air, Parrot won silver at the 2021 World Snowboarding Championship, was the 2020-21 World Cup champion, and finished second in the 2021 Winter X Games. Toutant meanwhile won gold in the men’s big air snowboarding at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. In slopestyle, Parrot won silver at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, while Toutant won silver at the 2021 World Snowboarding Championship, and is the World Cup leader in 2022.
Blouin is the reigning Olympic silver medalist in the women’s slopestyle. She will be in the women’s slopestyle final on February 5 at 7:24 pm MT. Blouin also enters the Olympic women’s slopestyle competition as the Winter X Games bronze medalist. In women’s big air, Blouin is also the reigning world champion, and won bronze in a Big Air World Cup in Beijing in 2018. The women’s Olympic big air final will be on February 14 at 7:15 pm MT.
The other Canadian medal hope in snowboarding is in men’s snowboardcross. Elliot Grondin of Sainte-Marie, Quebec won the bronze medal at the 2021 World Snowboarding Championship in Idre, Sweden, finished second in the 2021 World Cup standings, and won two World Cup medals (silver in Italy and bronze in Russia so far this World Cup season.
