Mark McMorris: "I am so extremely inspired by Kelly Slater"
Mark McMorris says he thinks he can "ride at a super high level for quite a few more years," and try and leave a legacy like Slater, Brady, and White.
Snowboard
Be like Kelly.
That is exactly what Mark McMorris would love to do.
Right after competing in the slopestyle qualifier on Sunday 6 February he still had time and kind words for his friend Kelly Slater's incredible feat earlier the same day, and said how much he's inspired by the surfer who turns 50 next week.
"I am so extremely inspired by Kelly," McMorris told Olympics.com.
"I'm so, so proud that someone can take care of their body and compete on that level at that age and to have that dominance for as long as he has.
"It's just so inspiring, like he's on that level of like Tom Brady or greater, you know? Like he can even be considered the greatest action sports athlete ever."
Earlier Slater had claimed his eighth Pro Pipeline surfing title in Hawaii, 30 years after his first, and called it the "best win of my life."
"He should be in that conversation of like one of the greatest athletes to ever live," continues McMorris, who's friends with Slater.
"Just unreal what he's been able to accomplish. And yeah, every time I get to hang with Kelly, I'm just like, I really feel like I'm in the presence of greatness.
"He is the the greatest of all time in surfing."
Qualifying for his third straight snowboard slopestyle final, McMorris is aiming to add to his two bronze medals from Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018 at Beijing 2022.
Mark McMorris out to emulate Slater, Tom Brady and Shaun White?
"Totally," he says.
At 28, McMorris already considers himself a snowboard senior citizen, "it's a young man's game," he said, but is still at the top of his own game and eyeing the podium in Beijing.
"I draw so much inspiration from those boys like the Tom Brady's the Kelly's the Shaun (White)'s and what they've been able to do, and it's so inspiring for me to push through."
While White has confirmed that Beijing will be his final Games, McMorris says he has some time yet before hanging up the board.
"I think I can like ride a super high level for quite a few more years and I'm having fun doing it. And that is that is kind of what I want to do."
Mark McMorris injuries: "I've been through some pretty gnarly stuff"
"Yeah, it can be tough at times, for sure, but I think I work hard to land good runs and then when I do that, it sure is fun and just working hard and practising my riding and enjoying snowboarding at all moments.
"I feel honoured to even do this. I've been through some pretty gnarly stuff and the fact that I can even snowboard is something to always remind myself about when I start putting tons of pressure on myself or getting really serious."
McMorris nearly lost his life after a scary crash while back-country snowboarding in Whistler in 2017, and somehow he was back on an Olympic podium 11 months later.
It gave him a new perspective on loving what he does and enjoying every moment.
"At the end of the day we're snowboarding down the mountain on a piece of wood. So we're out in nature enjoying it, and I feel lucky to be doing that."
He's also grateful for getting another shot at Olympic gold, and for the first time at an Olympic Winter Games he's injury-free.
"Totally. Like the last two games, I had my qualification spot, kind of like the year in advance, and then I broke my rib in '14 and then in '17 in March, I had gotten my spot and then I got in a bad accident.
"This time it was like: I didn't have my spot, I have my health, but then I got COVID.
"And then I missed a couple of finals. And then just like it was just a really competitive team to make too so it was sort of like a different sort of stress this time around.
"But it does feel like a massive hurdle to even be here and to be given a shot to ride. So it's pretty special."
McMorris will ride in the slopestyle final on Monday 6 February and in big air, which begins on Monday 14 February with the final a day later on Tuesday 15th.