The Sochi snowboarding schedule in 2014 starts early at the Winter Olympics and comes before the opening ceremonies in Russia, as the snowboard competition for the men and women picks up with Shaun White and Mark McMorris in the halfpipe and the slopestyle and the events will take place at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.
Things started off with the men's and women's slopestyle qualifications on Thursday and then they continue through the weekend with the semifinals and finals rounds and medals will be handed out during the two days following the opening ceremonies. Shaun White was expected to compete in the slopestyle event, but after injuring his wrist during practice this week he opted to pull out and focus on just the halfpipe competition instead. The Sochi Olympics are already off to a disastrous start and most of the construction is not even complete and many boarders have complained about the harsh conditions of the slopestyle course and that is one reason why White has pulled out, as he wants to heal up from his wrist injury to compete at full strength in the halfpipe competition.
White is one of the biggest stars for Team USA and he is looking to win his third straight gold medal after taking the halfpipe in Turin in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010 and he hopes to add another in Sochi. The events in the snowboarding competition for the winter games includes the cross event, parallel slalom, halfpipe competition and the slopestyle and White is looked at as the favorite for the half, while Canadian Mark McMorris one of the predicted winners in the slopestyle. Some snowboarders criticized White for his decision, but many have said that it's a smart one since he is not favored in the slopestyle despite winning the X Games event numerous times and the star said he was taking into account his injury and his goal of winning a third straight halfpipe gold medal.
White hurt his wrist on a practice run this week and he cited the tough conditions on the course as one reason for dropping out of the slopestyle and McMorris also commented about some of the takeoffs combined with the snow and that could lead to some issues during the competition. The 27-year-old White is looking to win another gold in the halfpipe and he is dealing with multiple injuries, including his shoulder and his wrist along with a sore ankle and he is hoping that some extra time off will help to heal him up. Torstein Horgmo of Norway already broke a collarbone on the course and this is another example of the poor planning in Sochi and next Tuesday has the halfpipe event that fans are looking forward to so much.
McMorris comes into things after coming down with an injury of his own at the X Games in Aspen a little over a week ago and while he said he is sore, he is expecting to perform well in the slopestyle. The United States and Norway are projected as two of the top nations in medal totals and the American team could get one of the first golds of the games, although one area they will miss out on is women's skiing, as Lindsey Vonn will be out competition after suffering an injury.
Check here for the snowboarding schedule for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.