Sask. MLA, father of Olympic snowboarder Mark McMorris, says distance not putting damper on family support

Don McMorris has been at every Olympic competition his son, Mark McMorris, has competed in before this year. This time Don is cheering hard from his home in Saskatchewan, but says it's not the same as it would be watching in Beijing. 

"There's nothing like being there and trying to support. I don't know if it makes a difference for him but, you know, when he lands his final jump and sees a Canadian flag, or his parents there, I think it might have a bit of an influence," Don, who is also the Saskatchewan Party MLA for Indian Head-Milestone, told CBC's Sam Maciag.

Mark finished third in the Olympic men's snowboard slopestyle event on Monday in what he described as one of the "best rounds" of his life. He finished behind Canadian gold medallist Max Parrot of Bromont, Que., and silver medallist Yiming Su from China.

Mark was critical of the scoring methods that placed him in third after his run, saying the judges missed a mistake Parrot made.

Despite that, the McMorris family watched with unwavering focus until he landed his final jump, then exploded with excitement.

Even though Mark has reached the podium every year he's competed in the Olympics, Don said he sometimes has to remind himself that his son is a world-class athlete.

"You really have to pinch yourself, because to us he's still just Mark and he's just a kid from Regina," Don said.

"The success is much bigger than we even kind of acknowledge or even can believe in. He comes from the flatlands of Saskatchewan."

The last year has been a challenge for Mark because of COVID-19, Don said, but especially the past month or two when Mark has been in near complete isolation.

"It hasn't been all clear-sailing for sure, but when you see the world kind of jump up and down —