Cool people, fine slopes, new tricks

Mark McMorris, of Canada, at Cardrona.
Mark McMorris, of Canada, at Cardrona.
Despite competing at the age of just 17, Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris has already made his mark on the international scene.

Slopestyle gold medallist at the 2010 Calgary World Cup and silver medallist at this year's Winter X Games, the talented youngster has been ushered straight through to today's slopestyle semifinals of the Burton Open.

McMorris is particularly looking forward to testing himself in competition today - it being the first time he has competed since he broke his leg while skateboarding three months ago.

Now "back to 100%" after two months out of the cast, he cannot wait to compete for the first time in five months.

"Now that I am feeling good, I really want to get back into it and do some new stuff. The conditions are awesome here; there's been lots of wind, but it's been super sunny and a lot of fun, so I can't wait to get out there and ride."

A young man with a reputation for new tricks, McMorris pulled the first backside triple cork 1440 trick in March this year, and told the Otago Daily Times to keep an eye out for his double cork spins in the Burton Open.

He said his success since he got into the sport at the age of 10 came down to hard work and "a lot of people helping me to get where I am today".

On the other side of the learning spectrum, McMorris continues his school studies when he returns home, but says he does not have much time for study when putting so much time into boarding.

"I am busy all of the time ... but you meet a lot of cool people and you get to wake up every day and say, `I'm going snowboarding today.' It's fun."

 

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