McMorris lands big air bronze in Milan
At his return to competition, Mark McMorris clinched a Word Cup bronze at the inaugural FIS Super Series in Milan.
Only eight months after breaking his femur, McMorris not only made his way back on the slopes, but earned a spot on the FIS World Cup podium. The Olympic bronze medallist finished with a total score of 173, behind Belgium’s Seppe Smits 178.50. The first big air World Cup title of the season went to Norway’s Marcus Kleveland, who won with a total score of 188.
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McMorris opened the competition with a clean backside triple cork 1440, scoring 92 points, just two and a half behind Kleveland. A switch backside 1260 scoring 81 points, allowed McMorris to maintain his spot behind the 17-year-old Norwegian leader.
Related: International competitions coming to Canada this winter
With the best two of three runs making up their final score, riders needed strong finale in order to move up the rankings. Unfortunately McMorris was unable to stick the landing on his final run, giving Smits the opportunity to move into second.
With big air making its Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018, Canadian snowboarders will have the opportunity to become double Olympic medallist in just 15 months. In the meantime big air fans will have several competitions to look forward to, including Air + Style Beijing, where the reigning X Games champion Max Parrot will make his season debut next weekend.
