[OLYMPICS] O Canada! Snowboarder Max Parrot Wins Canada’s First Gold Medal at Beijing Olympics

Max Parrot has won Olympic gold in men’s slopestyle, bringing home Canada’s first gold in this year’s games. The 27-year-old snowboarder, the pride of Bromont Mountain, beamed with pure joy in post-competition interviews after the “biggest run” of his life (so far), a life that in the past four years has included a cancer diagnosis and recovery, and recovery from Covid-19.

Jumping from his silver medal position in PyeongChang, Parrot scored 90.96 on his second run in the finals, challenging his competitors to catch him. China’s Su Yiming took the silver medal, and Parrot’s teammate and Saskatchewan snowboarding superstar Mark McMorris, 28, won the bronze medal. Matching his result from two previous games, McMorris commented to reporters that “having longevity and consistency in a young man’s sport is hard. I’m honored to be playing that role and pushing the envelope.” Sebastien Toutant of L’Assomption, Quebec, who brought home gold for Canada in men’s big air in PyeongChang, placed 11th in the competition with a score of 54.00.

It seems there may have been some good old-fashioned Canadian superstition – by way of a lucky loonie – at play in the men’s team’s success at Beijing slopestyle, along with the dedication, hard work, and unbelievable will and athleticism that it takes to complete at this level. First used at center ice for the 2002 Salt Lake games, where Canada brought home men’s and women’s Olympic hockey gold, the Canadian $1 coin was placed in the first rails feature by snowboard coach Chris Witwicki.

Congratulations to Max Parrot and all the competitors.

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