Snowboarder Max Parrot soars to Canada's 1st gold medal at Beijing Olympics, McMorris adds bronze

Max Parrot's comeback from cancer is complete.

The Canadian won gold in snowboard slopestyle on Monday at the Beijing Olympics, upgrading from the silver he won at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Fellow Canadian Mark McMorris earned bronze in the event for the third consecutive time, while China's Su Yiming took silver.

In between podiums, Parrot, of Bromont, Que., was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, forcing him to miss the entire 2018-19 season.

Just over three years later, he's set to stand atop the Olympic podium with Canada's first gold medal of these Beijing Games.

WATCH | Parrot collects Canada's 1st gold medal in Beijing:

Snowboarder Max Parrot’s gold-medal comeback after beating cancer

3 years ago

Duration 2:06

Snowboarder Max Parrot won Canada's first gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Games, completing a triumphant comeback after he was diagnosed with cancer following the 2018 Olympics.

"It really just shows how anything is possible. Three years ago, I was laying down in a hospital bed with no energy, no muscles, no cardio. And today, I'm an Olympic gold medallist and I did the biggest run of my life, " Parrot told CBC Sports after the event.

At a news conference ahead of the Olympics, Parrot said his outlook on sports, and on life, changed post-cancer.

"Every time I step on my snowboard, I smile twice as much as before and it just transplanted into my training," he said.

WATCH | Parrot reflects on battle with cancer:

Returning Champions: Sébastien Toutant

3 years ago

Duration 3:33

Canadian snowboarder Sébastien Toutant reflects on winning Olympic gold in Big Air at PyeongChang 2018, his disappointing performances in Slopestyle, and his hopes for Beijing 2022.

It's all smiles now after the 27-year-old collected his first career Olympic title, adding to an illustrious career that also includes eight X Games gold medals.

Parrot won on the strength of his second run, on which he scored 90.96 points. The Canadian stomped a frontside 1620 on the final jump, and immediately started clapping on his way down, knowing his run should be good enough to land on the podium.

It vaulted him to the top. But as the fourth rider, Parrot had to wait for eight more athletes to come with their second runs, and all 12 in the final had one last shot to post a medal-worthy score in their third run.

McMorris, of Regina, used that opportunity to score 88.53 points and move to third, just .17 points back of China's Su.

WATCH | McMorris stomps 3rd run for bronze:

Max Parrot reflects on cancer battle following gold medal win

3 years ago

Duration 0:28

The 27 year-old snowboarder talks about his Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis that interrupted his journey to Beijing 2022.

"That was a nerve-wracking moment right there," McMorris said. "I went backside 1620 on the last one and the landing was quite shaded so I was just like, 'Oh, I hope I am where I think I am' and landed quite clean and was just thrilled. I felt so relieved to land that run.

"I thought I would've landed second or first, but hey, I'm on the podium and I wasn't after my first two runs, so it feels amazing."

And so Parrot's gold medal was confirmed some 30 minutes after he landed that final 1620.

"It's the biggest run I've done in my entire whole career," Parrot said. "I've never done three triples in a row in a run… everything was so clean so I'm just extremely proud of myself with that."

Sébastien Toutant, the third Canadian to qualify for the final, placed ninth with a top score of 54 points.

After Parrot learned of his blood cancer, he underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy over six months during which he said he shaved his head, developed an aversion to lattes and was generally taken out of training.

A few weeks ago, Parrot said his journey led to a more laidback approach ahead of his third Olympics.

"My goal is to go for the gold, that's for sure," he said at the time. "But I'm really happy as well that if I don't get the gold, I won't have any regrets because I did everything in my power over the past couple months, and that was something important for me as well."

The newly minted Olympic champion will surely have no regrets now. And he'll get the chance to double when, along with McMorris, Toutant and Darcy Sharpe — the fourth Canadian in the event, who failed to reach the final — he returns to the slopes in China for the big air competition on Feb. 14.

When he won his first in 2014, it was at the sport's Olympic debut. His second in 2018 came just months after a near-fatal crash. The stars appeared aligned for him to climb higher on the podium in Beijing, but he ultimately fell less than two-tenths of a point short of silver, and less than two points off the top spot.

"Having longevity and consistency in a young man's sport is hard and I'm honoured to be playing that role and pushing that envelope," McMorris said. "It's been an incredible run and I appreciate Canada's support and love and it's a true honour."

McMorris is the reigning big air world champion, and recently placed fourth in the event at X Games. His latest bronze medal makes him the first Canadian snowboarder to reach three Olympic podiums, and the first athlete to win three straight bronze medals in the same individual event at the Winter Games.

To win its first title in Beijing, the Canadian team resorted to a tried-and-true trick: the lucky loonie.

The Canadian $1 coin was placed by a coach within the Olympic rings of the first rails feature on the Genting Snow Park, calling back to the loonie placed at centre ice of the hockey rink at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, where Canada's men's and women's team's both took gold.

Twenty years later, the loonie proved lucky once again.