Canadian snowboard star Mark McMorris was recovering and “feeling good” after a scary training crash ahead of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, but his ability to compete in the big air event remained uncertain as of Thursday, February 5, 2026, according to Team Canada. McMorris’s accident during big air training was described by Team Canada as a “heavy crash,” with initial fears about his condition leading to the stretcher removal and hospital visit.
The Canadian Olympic Committee planned to assess his status before the big air qualifiers on Thursday evening, underlining the uncertainty facing his Olympic campaign, as per a report by Reuters. The 32-year-old, a three-time Olympic bronze medallist, had expressed feeling fit and excited to compete before the accident.
His Olympic resume includes bronze medals in slopestyle at the 2014 Sochi, 2018 PyeongChang, and 2022 Beijing Games. McMorris has a long history of overcoming big injuries, like a near-life-threatening crash in 2017 in which he suffered multiple fractures and internal injuries.
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McMorris Is Not The First One To Crash This Season
McMorris’s crash comes during heightened attention on Winter Olympic athletes facing adversity, including American ski legend Lindsey Vonn. Vonn, 41, crashed during her final World Cup downhill race on January 30 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, just one week before the start of the Milano Cortina Olympics. She was airlifted off the course for medical evaluation after losing control and running into safety nets, though she was able to ski to the finish area after the fall.
Despite the severity of the incident and a completely ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee, Vonn has since said she is confident she can compete in the Games. After several days of physical therapy and input from doctors, she reportedly skied with a knee brace and stated her knee was stable enough to participate in the women’s downhill event scheduled for February 8, as per a report by Associated Press.
Vonn’s situation shows the fine line elite winter athletes walk between preparation and risk in the lead-up to the Olympics. The American, one of the most successful Alpine ski racers in history, has faced numerous injuries throughout her career, including a partial knee replacement in 2024 after earlier setbacks. Her 2026 campaign represented an extraordinary comeback, with multiple World Cup podiums that season before the crash.
Lindsey Vonn’s stature in Alpine skiing adds further context to her historic comeback. Over her career, she claimed 84 World Cup victories, including 45 in downhill and 28 in super-G, and stood on the podium 145 times across multiple disciplines, one of the most prolific records in the sport’s history. She won four overall World Cup titles and a total of 16 discipline crowns in downhill, super-G, and combined. In Olympic competition, Vonn earned three medals, including downhill gold and super-G bronze in 2010 and a downhill bronze in 2018, and also collected eight World Championship medals during her long career.
Published: Feb 5, 2026 11:15 am