McMorris and Gasser shine as Alpensia facilities make a Big Air impression
With Big Air set to make its Olympic debut in 2018, all eyes were on the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre and the FIS Snowboard World Cup, which provided the first PyeongChang 2018 test event of the season on 25-26 November.
Snowboard
The Alpensia resort is now home to what is the biggest Big Air ramp in the world, and fittingly there were some huge performances on display in both the men’s and women’s events.
In the men’s competition it was Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris who topped the leaderboard. The Sochi 2014 slopestyle Olympic bronze medallist produced some of his finest tricks and skills, scoring 184.75 points to secure his first-place finish. He logged 90.25 on his first run, but then faltered on his second, scoring only 51. However he confirmed his victory with a 94.50 on his final jump.
He was one of five Canadians who finished in the top 10, with Max Parrot taking second place after scoring 178 and Tyler Nicholson finishing fourth with 171. Sebastien Toutant (152.50) came in seventh, and Darcy Sharpe (122.25) finished 10th. US pair Ryan Stassel and Chris Corning finished third and fifth with scores of 177.25 and 165.75.
I’m excited for the PyeongChang Olympics. This site has treated me well. Mark McMorris Canada - Mark McMorris Canada
For McMorris the victory represented an emotional comeback from an extended period out with injury, and he admitted it felt very special. “It was a big mental thing to overcome that and being on first place is icing on the cake... I’m excited for the PyeongChang Olympics. This site has treated me well.”
In the women’s competition, Anna Gasser of Austria won gold with 180.75 while Julia Marino (USA) and Katie Ormerod (GBR) took silver and bronze with 157.00 and 156.75 respectively.
“I’m really happy that everything worked out as I planned,” enthused Gasser. “The ramp was really cool, everything worked out great. The speed was easy and the snow was really nice. I hope I can perform as well at the PyeongChang Games.”
Meanwhile the organisers were delighted to see the new venue put to the test so successfully. “We aim to use this week as an important learning experience for staff across all our functional areas to ensure that we deliver the best competition for everyone involved next season,” said Lee Hee-beom, CEO of PyeongChang 2018.