Burton US Open Slopestyle: Mark McMorris and Spencer O’Brien atop the Podium
Mark McMorris grabs another Gold at the Burton US Open Slopestyle snowboard event.
Burton US Open Slopestyle Snowboard event won by Mark McMorris. Photo courtesy of www.worldsnowboardtour.com
Canadians Mark McMorris and Spencer O’Brien won the men and ladies slopestyle finals at the 31st edition of the Burton US Open Slopestyle Snowboarding Championships presented by MINI. Held at Vail Mountain, CO, this year marks the first time in history the contest has been held on the West Coast.
McMorris of Regina, Sask. and his teammates Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que. and Darcy Sharpe of Comox, B.C., were the only Canadians to compete in the 12-man finals.
Today’s snowy conditions caused some of the riders to have a difficult time clearing the jumps. However, McMorris didn’t have any trouble at all. He scored 83.05 points on his first run of three, keeping him in first place and winning $45,000. Torstein Horgmo of Norway finished in second, with Chas Guldemond of USA in third. Parrot finished in ninth place, followed by Sharpe in 10th.
When asked what it means to win the Burton US Open Snowboard Championship, McMorris said, “It means a lot to me. It’s the event where I got my professional career started five years ago and I made the finals. Just to win the longest running snowboard contest ever is good for me and I’m really happy.”
As the snowy conditions worsened throughout the afternoon, event organizers canceled the women’s slopestyle finals.
Ladies winner Spencer O’Brien sales through the air. Photo courtesy of http://www.worldsnowboardtour.com
The podium results were determined using Wednesday’s semi-final scores, giving Spencer O’Brien of North Vancouver, B.C. the win. Jamie Anderson of USA came in second, followed by Brooke Voigt of Fort McMurray, Alta. in third.
“The practice and semi-finals were pretty sweet. We had some nice weather and it was awesome. I’m pretty stoked (on my third place win). I would have liked to have done finals today and stepped it up a little bit. It’s a pretty big podium for me so I’m pretty hyped,” said Voigt.
Canada Snowboard Slopestyle Coach Chris Witwicki said he was also happy with how well the team preformed.
“The contest in Vail is good. I’m glad they moved it from Vermont to Colorado. The weather unfortunately for finals didn’t work out as we well as wanted it to,” said Witwicki.
“The riding level for the guys was really high which was great. Mark put down a very smart, clean run. As for the girls, it’s too bad they canceled finals but its better to be safe then trying to ride the course the way it was. Were obviously stoked that Spencer and Mark got first and Brooke got third.”
Freestyle snowboard action will continue with the Nescafe Champs in Leysin, Switzerland from March 6 to 10.
Burton US Open Slopestyle Snowboarding Championships
March 1, 2013 – Vail, Colorado
Full results:
MEN
1 Mark McMorris – Regina, Sask.
2 Torstein Horgmo – NOR
3 Chas Guldemond – USA
4 Peetu Piiroinen – FIN
5 Jamie Nicholls – GBR
6 Yuki Kadono – JPN
7 Eric Willett – USA
8 Sage Kotsenburg – USA
9 Maxence Parrot – Bromont, Que.
10 Darcy Sharpe – Comox, B.C.
11 Ryan Stassel – USA
12 Stale Sandbech – NOR
18 Tyler Nicholson – North Bay, Ont.
22 Robby Balharry – Canmore, Alta.
27 Matts Kulisek – Saint-Sauveur, Que.
31 Mickey Ciccarelli – Ancaster, Ont.
32 Sebastien Toutant – L’Assomption, Que.
WOMEN
1 Spencer O’Brien – North Vancouver, B.C.
2 Jamie Anderson – USA
3 Brooke Voigt – Fort McMurray, Alta.
4 Sarka Pancochova – CZE
5 Christy Prior – NZL
6 Shelly Gotlieb – NZL
Category: Snowboarding
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
