Snowboarder Mark McMorris edges Max Parrot for gold in big air at World Cup

Snowboarder Mark McMorris of Regina edged defending champion and fellow Canadian Max Parrot for the gold medal in big air at a World Cup event on Saturday.

McMorris, who won bronze in slopestyle at the Sochi Olympics in 2014, scored 189.50 points to secure his third career big air World Cup gold.

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Parrot of Bromont, Que., was second with 184.75 points while Russia’s Anton Mamaev scored 174.75 points to finish third.

The Quebec City event served as the final stop of the first ever big air Super Series, a tour within the World Cup tour. McMorris and Parrot wrapped up the six-stop season with 2,600 points but McMorris, who finished with one more victory than Parrot, earned the Crystal Globe as the series winner.

Big air will make its Olympic debut next year in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

McMorris scored 96 points on his first run on Saturday, but had trouble with his landing on his second run. He rebounded in his third and final run with 93.50 points. The top two scores are combined for each athlete’s final point total.

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The 22-year-old Parrot landed a huge, 95.25-point run his third time down, earning a loud ovation from the crowd. He looked to have locked up gold until McMorris’s final run.

Parrot scored 89.50 points on his first run and 28.25 on his second.

Tyler Nicholson of North Bay, Ont., finished fifth with 166.25 combined points.

McMorris broke his femur a year ago and had a titanium rod implanted in his leg. The 23-year-old won bronze in big air at the X Games in Aspen last month while Parrot won gold.

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Teal Harle of Campbell River, B.C., finished just off the podium in fourth place with 177 points in the ski big air competition.

“The first one (jump) was pretty good, not my best ever, but landed it and then landed the second one and then got a chance to step it up on the third one so that was good,” Harle said.

Kai Mahler of Switzerland was first (182 points), Henrik Harlaut of Sweden finished second (181.20) and Andri Ragettli of Switzerland was third (181).

Calgary’s Mark Hendrickson was sixth (165.40).