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Snowboarder Mark McMorris of Canada, a three-time Olympic bronze medallist, said on Friday he had recovered from a recent concussion and received clearance from doctors to compete in the men’s slopestyle event at the Milano-Cortina Games.
McMorris had to sit out the big air contest after he hit his head during a practice run on Feb. 4. The Regina native said he suffered a concussion, bruising at the top of his pelvis and strained abdominal muscles.
After riding in a training round on Friday, McMorris said he was “feeling pretty darn good again” and was grateful that he had had more than a week to recover from the fall.
“I had a lot of fun today. It’s nice to get the hang of a course in such perfect weather,” McMorris said under sunny skies in the Alpine town of Livigno. “It’s easier to make friends with a course when it’s like this outside.”
The men’s slopestyle begins on Monday. McMorris has won all three of his bronze medals in this event – at Sochi in 2014, Pyeongchang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022.
The 32-year-old has suffered injuries throughout his career, including a 2017 crash in which he broke his jaw and left arm, ruptured his spleen, and incurred a pelvic fracture, rib fractures and a collapsed lung.
“I’ve definitely had to build myself back up from some tough injuries,” McMorris said. “I just try to move forward with positivity and trust my riding abilities, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
