Slopestyle at Sochi Olympics: Mark McMorris' McRib; Canadians Call Out Shaun White
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Frank Doyle
American snowboarder Shaun White withdrew from the slopestyle snowboarding competition at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Tuesday, which certainly helps Mark McMorris’ shot at a gold medal.
Still, at least a couple of Canadian rider thinks it’s more of a case of cold feet than the “injury risks” White cited in a statement.
White, who is looking for his third consecutive gold medal in snowboard halfpipe, twisted his wrist during a practice run on the slopestyle course Tuesday and pulled out of the competition later that day. After that, at least two Canadian riders offered their two cents on the situation via Twitter.
Sebastien Toutant a 21-year-old rider from Montreal tweeted “Mr. White… It’s easy to find excuses to pull out of a contest when you think you can’t win…”. Maxence Parrot, also from Montreal tweeted “Shaun knows he won’t be able to win the slopes, thats why he pulled out. He’s scared!”
In fairness to White, there have been some major concerns about the safety of this slopestyle course. A number of riders have already been hurt, forcing crews to make alterations.
That said Canadian slopestyle rider Mark McMorris suffered a broken rib less than two weeks ago and he has no intentions of pulling out of the competition. Actually, McMorris has been poking fun about the injury on Twitter, referring to it as “#McRib.”
“I couldn’t be in a happier place,” said the 20-year-old McMorris, still considered one of the favorites in the event. “It’s still broken and it’s going to be painful and I’m going to have to ride through the pain. But just to get a shot at trying to do what I want to do is an important thing.”
That’s looking on the bright side. Canada could see its first medals of the Sochi Olympics as early as Saturday with McMorris, Parrot and Toutant all capable of climbing the podium. However, if McMorris can ride up to his potential despite “McRib,” he’s considered the clear favorite.
Check all of Sports Interaction’s 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics odds here.