(Reuters) - Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris, who is recovering in hospital from injuries sustained in an off-piste accident, received good news on Tuesday when he was provisionally nominated to Canada's 2018 Olympic team.
McMorris, a bronze medalist in slopestyle at the Sochi Olympics, suffered a fractured jaw and left arm, ruptured spleen, a stable pelvic fracture, rib fractures and a collapsed left lung on Saturday and was airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital where he underwent several surgeries.
The 23-year-old, who is expected to be a gold medal contender at the Pyeongchang Winter Games in both slopestyle and the newest Olympic event Big Air, will have to recover from his injuries and meet a minimum performance criterion at an eligible event during the 2017-18 competition season.
Patrick Jarvis, Canada Snowboard’s executive director, said he expects McMorris will be ready to make a comeback to competition leading into Pyeongchang.
"We fully support Mark and he is already under the incredible care of the staff of the Vancouver General Hospital.” Jarvis said in a statement.
"Mark has shown incredible resilience and commitment to recovering from injury and we know that Pyeongchang 2018 will be a strong motivation for his comeback.”
McMorris dominated his events last season, capturing Crystal Globes as discipline champion in both Big Air and the overall Freestyle title.