Whistler will be well-represented this week at the 2023 Laax Open, one of Europe's most anticipated snow sports competitions. That's because Mark McMorris, Darcy Sharpe and Truth Smith are slated to join a field of over 300 world-class freestyle snowboarders and skiers dropping in from Jan. 18 to 22 in the Swiss Alps.
McMorris is one of the world's elite, with three Olympic slopestyle bronze medals and 21 X Games medals to his name. The 29-year-old Regina, Sask. native (and Whistler part-timer) has also branched out into the freeride world with his participation in events like Red Bull's multi-stage Natural Selection Tour. Known in snowboarding circles as "The Closer", McMorris is never to be counted out and should be one of the favourites this week in Switzerland.
Sharpe is coming off his first Olympic experience in Beijing, where he finished 12th in big air and 23rd in slopestyle. The Comox, B.C. native has earned four X Games medals and a big air silver from the 2015 World Championships so far. His older sister, Cassie, is a two-time Olympic medallist in halfpipe skiing.
Smith is a born-and-raised local out of the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club. The 18-year-old is known for being an all-terrain vehicle who coaches skateboarding whenever he's not carving through powder. Smith is part of a younger generation on the Canadian national snowboard team and looks to push veterans such as McMorris at every turn.
The Canadians will be taking on a stacked field that includes former Laax Open slopestyle winners Niklas Mattson of Sweden, plus Chris Corning and Sean Fitzsimons of the United States. Also in the mix are Norwegian phenom Marcus Kleveland and 18-year-old Chinese prodigy Su Yiming, a two-time Olympic medallist who bested his idol, McMorris, at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
The reigning Laax Open women's slopestyle champion, Australia's Tess Coady, is back to defend her throne. Austrian fans will be rooting for their two-time Olympic gold medallist, Anna Gasser, to rise up, while Japan's Reira Iwabuchi and Team USA fan favourite Hailey Langland look to make noise as well.
From freeski to superpipe
Freestyle skiers are joining the show at the Laax Open for the very first time. Their own slopestyle event launches with Swiss men's legends Fabian Bösch and Andri Ragettli facing American standouts Alex Hall and Nick Goepper. Hall, of course, is famous for throwing down a double-cork 2160 at the 2022 X Games, becoming the first athlete ever to land six full rotations in the air at any competition.
The women's field is similarly loaded with Switzerland's Olympic champion Mathilde Gremaud, French gold magnet Tess Ledeux and Estonia's 10-time X Games medallist Kelly Sildaru all poised for an epic battle.
Laax is also home to the world's longest competition halfpipe. At 21 metres wide, with seven-metre walls, this icy arena was built to boost riders to record-setting heights and push the limits of the sport.
The men's snowboard halfpipe contest sees Australian Scotty James, fresh off his amazing 99 score at the FIS World Cup event in Copper Mountain, up against 17-year-old compatriot Valentino Guseli who won the FIS World Cup big air crystal globe last weekend in Kreischberg. Also in contention are defending Laax Open and Olympic champ Ayumu Hirano of Japan, world-record holder Kaishu Hirano (who boosted nearly 7.5 metres out of the pipe in Beijing last season) and Yuto Totsuka, who wants to return to form after a 2021 X Games gold medal performance.
The women's snowboard halfpipe sees Spanish veteran Queralt Castellet and American wunderkind Chloe Kim up against the potent Japanese triple threat of Mitsuki Ono, Sena Tomita and Haruna Matsumoto.
Visit the Laax Open website for more information on how to watch and follow this high-octane event.
