Snowboarding has never lacked genius, this high-risk sport, every movement of the athletes, every flip, bears the power of life.
The ski industry's "face value bearer" Mark McMorris became a professional snowboarding far away mobilization at the age of 16. In 12 years, he won 20 XTRE World Games medals and 2 Winter Olympic bronze medals.
His body was covered with injuries and medals printed on him. The most serious injury nearly cost him his life. But after recovering, he returned to the snow field without hesitation.
He said, "The body is healing, and so is the mind." ”
"Everybody wants me to be tough."
In 2020, many events were cancelled due to the epidemic, but it is still the year mcMorris made history. In January, he won a gold and a silver medal in Norway, and the total number of medals at the World Extreme Games reached 20.
McMorris was born in 1993 in Saskatchewan, Canada, and when he was 5 years old, his parents took him and his brother to ski for the first time, and snowboarding has attracted the brothers since then.
His older brother was two years older than McMorris and was also a professional snowboarder. When he was a child, what his brother did, he followed what he did, and what his brother learned, he must also learn, and he would always test who learned first.
The brothers have always competed with each other and promoted each other. McMorris said: "He made my competitive level better, he trained me. ”
In 2009, at the age of 16, McMorris moved to the pro. In 2012, also in Norway, McMorris won two gold medals at the World Extreme Games.
"People see you as someone who's going to win, and that feels too much pressure."
When he fails to get on the podium for two consecutive games, he feels like people are losing patience with him. But as he stood on the podium again and again, everyone hoped he could be tough.
The commentators introduced McMorris with words such as "king" and "rule". In that case, he couldn't stop, and as a result, the injury came.
He broke a rib and had to be hospitalized. It was two weeks before the Sochi Winter Olympics — snowboarding was selected for the Winter Olympics for the first time, and he was the hope of the Canadian team.
"Rival" Tostein Hogmore gave him a lot of help.
When he first entered the professional arena, McMorris was always compared by the media with idol athlete Tostein Hogmore, and there was a lot of pressure, but he still became friends with Tostein Hogmore.
The idol told him, "We're just stepping on a board of wood and playing in the snow, and it won't make your life or ruin your life." Whether you successfully complete an action or fail, whether you lose or win in a game, you are still the same person. ”
Tostan Hogmore did a good demonstration. If you lose, you quickly forget about it; if you win, you will not be ecstatic. Every time he played, the idol's words would haunt McMorris's mind, helping him stay calm and clear-headed.
McMorris made a comeback at the Sochi Winter Olympics and eventually won a bronze medal, becoming the first Canadian snowboarder to win an Olympic medal.
The body will recover, and the mind will recover
"There's been a bunch of crap in the last few years, but I still love it as much as I did at the beginning, and even more."
Injuries became a part of McMorris's life, as did recovering from injuries.
The most serious one was a fracture of his jaw, a ruptured spleen, a fracture of his left arm, a fracture of the pelvis, a broken rib of 6, and a collapsed left lung.
In late March 2017, as usual, McMorris, along with his brother and friends, was filming in the snow in the wild.
The weather was erratic that day, with stops and stops under snow and unpredictable visibility. My brother gave up after a few unsuccessful attempts, but he wanted to try one last time.
"I'm really confident in doing this, not taking stupid risks."
McMorris, who was supposed to turn right to avoid the woods, turned left in the air and crashed straight into the woods.
I don't know where the bleeding was, but there was blood everywhere anyway. The brother and friends called for helicopter rescue for the first time, and while waiting for rescue, he even vomited a lot of blood.
Later, every time he thought about it, his brother would feel afraid, "Seeing him injured with his own eyes, he may no longer be able to ski, and he may not live to get married." ”
After waking up in the hospital, McMorris slowly looked around, "Seeing everyone, I'm happy to be alive." ”
Lying in his hospital bed, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to eat liquid food, he began to think about the meaning of skiing, "What am I doing?" If that's the end result, then why should I ski? ”
He was a little depressed, and his mother encouraged him, "We will definitely get through this." He responded firmly: "Of course, I still have to participate in the Olympic Games." ”
He was discharged from the hospital 12 days later and returned to the field 8 months later. In November 2017, he won the gold medal at the Beijing FIS Snowboard Jumping World Cup. Three months later, at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, he won another bronze medal.
Everyone was amazed at how quickly he recovered, including the physically-stimulating facilitator who helped him recover. McMorris said the medical tubes all over his body were gradually unplugged, which cut off many of his negative thoughts. The pain in his body gradually disappeared, and he began to feel refreshed.
When it comes time to recover to being able to ski, the excitement far outweighs the tension. "Over time, the body heals, and so does the mind."
He still loves snowboarding, he loves everything about snowboarding
After returning to the slopes, McMorris didn't want to put too much pressure on himself, "just to enjoy skiing" . He tried some low-difficulty moves and fell.
"I'm a little breathless."
He was ready to ski again, but not ready to fall again. "It was a ski accident, and you're skiing every day, how can you forget?"
He can only "scare" himself again and again to prepare himself. Again and again, the game is also helping him find confidence, standing on the snowboard and gradually no longer afraid.
"Also, everyone is behind me and it gives me a lot of motivation."
McMorris has a habit of not looking at the score after doing the action well, and then returning to the crowd, "When you hear the cheers, you know you did your best." ”
Snowboarding is not a sport to enjoy alone, McMorris has always believed that joy and pain can be shared, "it is very important to have those who are always with you." ”
As a child, McMurris played ice hockey for a while, but eventually chose snowboarding. He never regretted it, and the only thing he missed was, "As part of a team, celebrating the feeling of victory together." ”
Family and friends made up for this shortcoming.
Every time I play, I have family and friends by my side. There's a lot of joy when you're with them, he said, and "usually, when you're in a good mood, you're going to play better." ”
After the injury, McMorris was more modest, friends said, "He's always been a very modest kid, but now he's more modest." The injury made him cherish and appreciate life. ”
In 2021, McMorris won the Natural Selection Tour.
Returning to the wild and colliding with nature at zero distance, he said: "This can't be said to be the biggest achievement of my career, but it is definitely one of the biggest achievements." ”
Every year, during the non-race, McMorris would go snowboarding with friends. The snowboard draws a beautiful arc on the snow surface, no medals and no prizes, but for him it is a "spiritual enjoyment".
It's been four years since that wilderness skiing accident, and the memories of those injuries haven't completely disappeared, but he still loves snowboarding, loves everything about snowboarding.
epilogue
At a young age, McMorris's athletic career was not always smooth. From Sochi to Pyeongchang was not his best form.
Coming to Beijing, he wanted to "skate out of the best of his ability and play in the Winter Olympics in good health." ”
Written by Lu Chunping
Edited by Li Xu/Liang Lina
Vision Wang Ye/Liu Liang