Canadian snowboarding trio look to cement Olympic legacies in Beijing

At Sochi 2014, a trio Canadian snowboarders attacked the slopes of Russia in the first-ever Olympic slopestyle and big air competitions.

Their journeys have since greatly differed, but Mark McMorris, Max Parrot and Sebastien Toutant will each be back for their third Games at Beijing 2022.

"The skill is there. And the veteran wisdom and experience is there as well. … You can't beat that," said CBC snowboard analyst Craig McMorris, the older brother of Mark McMorris.

In addition to slopestyle and big air, riders will also compete in halfpipe, snowboard cross and parallel giant slalom events. The first medals in the sport will be awarded in women's slopestyle on Feb. 6, with events running until men's big air on Feb. 15.

Each event follows a roughly similar format, with qualification runs cutting down competitors ahead of the final.

The majority of Canada's medal hopes lie in men's slopestyle and big air. McMorris is a two-time slopestyle bronze medallist while Parrot took silver in the event in 2018. Toutant won big air gold in Pyeongchang.

And yet there's a feeling of unrealized potential among the trio, who will be joined by 25-year-old Olympic rookie Darcy Sharpe in Beijing.

Entering Pyeongchang, Mark McMorris had just recovered from a near-fatal crash. Even if he wasn't just happy to be there, the podium appearance was icing on the cake.

The 28-year-old Regina native currently ranks third in slopestyle and fourth in big air, leaving him right on the cusp of an Olympic medal. He won gold in the former while placing fourth in the latter at the recent X Games, though he's also the reigning big air world champion.

It all means his expectations may be higher than bronze this time around.

WATCH | McMorris lands X Games