LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris was taken off the course on a stretcher after crashing during a nighttime big air training session for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Wednesday night.
The 32-year-old three-time Olympic bronze medalist was training in Livigno ahead of Thursday night's big air qualifying when the incident occurred. He was attended to by medical personnel on site before being transported for further evaluation. His medical condition has not yet been disclosed.
A team statement revealed that the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Snowboard staff were attending to McMorris, adding that more information would be provided as it becomes available. Canada's snowboard team later posted on social media that McMorris was "okay," without offering further details.
Big air is a freestyle snowboarding discipline that requires riders to launch off large ramps and complete multiple spins and tricks before landing. The big air venue in Livigno features a ramp over 50 meters high.
McMorris is competing in his fourth Winter Olympics. He claimed consecutive bronze medals in slopestyle across the 2014, 2018 and 2022 tournaments, and has also earned multiple X Games titles across both slopestyle and big air during his career.
The men's big air competition is scheduled to begin on Thursday, with the final on Saturday. ■
