Men's Slopestyle Qualifiers
Rosa Khutor Extreme Park includes four features at the top of the course and three bigger ones near the bottom of the course, a combination that allows snowboarders to maximize their scores with their own creativity. Of course, there is one snowboarder whose absence stands out more than anyone else's presence in the slopestyle event. Shaun White pulled out of slopestyle just days before the competition began, citing injuries that, if further complicated, could inhibit him in the halfpipe later in the games. Folllowing his withdrawal from competition, Canadian snowboarder Sebastian Toutant tweeted "Mr. White.... It's easy to find excuses to pull out of a contest when you think you can't win....," creating some tensions between Canada and Team USA.
Toutant completed an impressive 1260 jump, but only managed a score of 74.25 in his first run. In his second run, his jumps brought him a much higher 87.25, placing him within the top four of his heat.
USA snowboarder Chaz Guldemond scored 86.00 in his first run, originally placing him in the fourth place spot and guaranteeing his finals position, but Jamie Nicholls of Great Britain beat out Guldemond and clenched his own place in the finals with a score of 86.75, forcing Guldemond out of the coveted top-four finish in their heat.
USA snowboarder Chaz Guldemond scored 86.00 in his first run, originally placing him in the fourth place spot and guaranteeing his finals position, but Jamie Nicholls of Great Britain beat out Guldemond and clenched his own place in the finals with a score of 86.75, forcing Guldemond out of the coveted top-four finish in their heat.
Sage Kotzenburg, USA, approaches the slopestyle with a joyful and carefree attitude. Prior to competition, he filmed a first-person video of what it was like to go down the Sochi course. He received a score of 86.50.
Olympic Medal favorite Mark McMorris of Canada has been suffering from a broken rib, which has reportedly made it painful for him to "cough or even laugh". He fell once on his ride down the course as he fails to stop rotation before he lands, an error which was apparent in his score of 29.50. On his second run, he managed to overcome his pain for a score of 89.25, which, while impressive, was not enough to give him the top four finish for automatic placement in the final round.
Canadian Max Parrot demonstrated some of the cleanest landings yet on his second run down the slope, which was apparent in his monstrous 97.50 score, which brought him definitively into first place in his heat.
Olympic Medal favorite Mark McMorris of Canada has been suffering from a broken rib, which has reportedly made it painful for him to "cough or even laugh". He fell once on his ride down the course as he fails to stop rotation before he lands, an error which was apparent in his score of 29.50. On his second run, he managed to overcome his pain for a score of 89.25, which, while impressive, was not enough to give him the top four finish for automatic placement in the final round.
Canadian Max Parrot demonstrated some of the cleanest landings yet on his second run down the slope, which was apparent in his monstrous 97.50 score, which brought him definitively into first place in his heat.
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