Saskatchewan’s Mark McMorris led the charge for the maple leaf in qualifying on Sunday at Genting Snow Park.
The two-time Olympic bronze medalist in freestyle downhill, also known as slopestyle, was spectacular on his second and final run of the day. His 83.30 points gave him 2nd place in the session behind China’s Yimming Su (86.80).
Mark McMorris will be aiming for a third Olympic medal in freestyle downhill.
Photo : Associated Press / Francisco Seco
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Quebecers Sébastien Toutant and Maxence Parrot also reached the final stage after finishing 8th and 10th respectively.
Toutant had a hiccup landing from a mid-course jump on his first pass, but recovered well thereafter. The Repentignois offered a second faultless performance to secure his place in the final with a harvest of 71.06 points.
Today, the important thing was to pass, it was not necessarily to win the qualification
, said the one who promises to leave everything on the track on Monday.
« The qualification and the final, it is as if they were two completely different competitions. In the final, my descent will change a lot! There are rails that will change and there will be bigger spins also in my descent. »
Olympic champion in the big jump Sébastien Toutant will want to improve on his 11th place in slopestyle at the Pyeongchang Games.
Photo : Associated Press / Sean Kilpatrick
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For his part, Bromontois Maxence Parrot received a score of 70.11 on his first attempt, which was enough to get a ticket for the long-awaited meeting.
The Olympic vice-champion of the event wanted to add to his second passage on the course. However, he had difficulty landing a maneuver and was unable to improve his score.
Also in action, Albertan Darcy Sharpe could not rank among the 12 athletes who will compete for top honors.
The British Columbian finished the first Olympic event of his career in 23rd place with 45.46 points. He will be back in action on February 14 for the big jump (big air).
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