mark mcmorris Goes Down Fighting in Olympic Slopestyle Final, Leaves Hill a Hero
Mark McMorris crashed on his final run in the snowboard slopestyle final at Livigno Snow Park but finished the competition on his feet, hugging the three young medalists who have grown up idolizing him. The 32-year-old, battling recent injuries, pushed for a fifth-turn trick and left the hill having given everything.
A final run that summed up a career
McMorris, competing at his fourth Olympic Games, knew he had to up the ante on his last attempt. He launched on the second jump for a front-side 1800 — five full rotations — a trick he had nearly landed earlier in the final when the tail of his board skidded out. This time he completed the spin but crashed hard, bouncing down the slope before gliding to the finish and receiving his score.
“I was starting to taste it, ” McMorris said after the run. “I was riding well, I felt good, I knew I had what it takes. ” The crash left him beaten up physically and mentally, but proud to have made it back into Olympic contention after a serious training crash days earlier. He described feeling “pretty beaten up. Mentally and physically, ” and said he was “super-thankful to be in one piece. ”
Young winners salute the man who inspired them
When the results were read, the podium was occupied by a trio who openly credit McMorris as an inspiration. Gold went to a 22-year-old skier who produced an unassailable first run, silver to a 20-year-old whose early effort held, and bronze to a 22-year-old American who nailed a late third run. All three embraced McMorris after his final crash; one of them even performed a theatrical bow as McMorris left the course.
“Mark has always been my biggest idol and my biggest inspiration since the very first day, ” one medalist said. Another added, “To me, Mark is a legend. His challenges and his mental strength is something that nobody can replicate. ” Their words underscored the soft power McMorris has wielded across a generation of freestyle riders: innovation on the course, resilience off it.
One of the medalists, who was only 13 when McMorris made his Olympic debut, described how watching him shaped their career and pushed them to work harder and raise the difficulty of their own tricks. That sentiment — admiration mixed with competitive drive — summed up the evening: McMorris remains a pivot point for the sport even when he’s not standing on the podium.
Injury, endurance and what comes next
McMorris missed the big air event after a training crash on Feb. 4, 2026 (ET) that left him briefly unconscious and with a concussion, pelvic bone bruising and strained abdominal muscles. He was stretchered off and evaluated at a hospital before rejoining his team later that night. Given that timeline, his presence in the slopestyle final was testament to a high tolerance for risk and a fierce determination to compete.
He left Livigno with an eighth-place finish in a 12-rider field and three Olympic bronze medals from previous Games. When asked whether he plans to chase a fifth Olympics, McMorris was noncommittal: “I don’t know yet, ” he said before walking away, but quickly added that he’s “having more fun than ever” and doesn’t plan to stop any time soon.
For a sport built on attempting the nearly impossible, McMorris’s career is a study in both the costs and the rewards of pushing limits. On this night he didn’t leave with another Olympic medal, but he left the hill having reinforced the very thing that made him great: the willingness to try what others won’t and to inspire the next wave while doing it.
