Medals update: Max Parrot turns PyeongChang silver to Beijing gold in men’s snowboard slopestyle

Canada's Max Parrot combined style and daring best among the 12-man field in the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games snowboard slopestyle finals at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou on Monday.

The Canadian, who finished with a silver medal in the slopestyle event at PyeongChang 2018 and overcame cancer in 2019, earned a score of 90.96 on the strength of an outrageous second run that paired huge air and technical brilliance in the rail section.

“This is so incredibly special, especially with the run I did today. It's the biggest run I've done in my entire career. I've never done two triples in a row in a run, with that difficulty as well, and everything was so clean," said Parrot after sealing his victory. "I am extremely proud of myself and to take gold on that run means so much for me.

"I definitely didn’t want to have another silver or the bronze. I wanted the gold," he added. "That’s what I have been saying for the past months.”

Parrot takes nothing for granted

“I don’t take anything for granted any more," he added when asked about his battle with cancer. "It made me such a better snowboarder, as well. I try to appreciate every day now -- the little things in the morning through to my passion of snowboarding. I try to smile all day long now, and the results come with that now as well. It’s amazing."

Parrot's peerless run was enough to edge out 17-year-old local favourite Su Yiming of the People's Republic of China, whose score of 88.70 on his final run was enough for silver and hints at a bright future for the teenager.

"This means a lot. It's so special to me," said the Chinese prodigy after winning his historic silver. "Having everyone here to support me, this feeling is just incredible. The most important thing is that I get to share the podium with my idols like Mark McMorris and Max [Parrot].

"I just want to thank everyone so much -- my friends, my family, my sport," added Su, clearly enjoying his moment in the spotlight. "Having this flag on my back is the best feeling ever."

McMorris seals bronze trio

It was the veteran Canadian Mark McMorris who rounded out the podium, bumping defending Olympic champion Red Gerard out of third place to seal his third Olympic bronze in a row (after finishing third at Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018).

“I guess consistency's key -- it's what they say," laughed McMorris after winning his hat-trick of bronze medals. "I was like, ‘Holy crap, that’s another one?’ But, you know, to be able to land that last one and get on to the podium, I thought [the score] might have been a little bit higher, but I'm really proud of myself and how I rode and rose to the occasion on the last one.

"Yeah, three for three is pretty good," he added. "I'm pretty stoked.”

Men’s snowboard slopestyle results

• 1 Max Parrot (CAN) 90.96
• 2 Su Yiming (CHN) 88.70
• 3 Mark McMorris (CAN) 88.53