IRELAND’S 16-YEAR-OLD snowboarder Seamus O’Connor showed he has a bright future in the sport this morning with an impressive semi-final performance.
The US-born teenager came in ninth in his semi-final — with an excellent 70.25 in his second run — but it was not good enough to book a place in the final.
The Utah native came in 13th in his heat on Thursday morning.
One of the favourites, Canada’s Mark McMorris, who squeezed into the final earlier, was left bemused after he earlier failed to gain direct qualification despite a seemingly faultless second run that he felt did not get the score it deserved.
“I just didn’t think my run was worth such a low score, I didn’t see what was that much more insane about their runs, but it’s a judged sport,” said McMorris, who finished seventh in his heat on Thursday.
And his concerns were echoed by American Sage Kotsenburg, who also made it through to the final on Saturday.
“A lot of people in here were upset (at the judging). I’m not going to do a run (with a lot of tricks) just because that’s what they (the judges) want to see,” he said following training on Friday.
“I hope it changes. I wouldn’t even want to watch it (snowboarding) if it doesn’t.”
Kotsenburg’s teammate Chas Guldemond said the controversy could have a detrimental affect on the event.
“A couple of things made me raise my eyebrows. This is the one event you’ve got to get right,” he said. “They need to figure out the mistakes and fix them. This is a big deal.
“We’ve worked so hard to get here (slopestyle in the Olympics). Everyone is watching.”
More to follow
