<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"\"&lt;p&gt;All Photos: Chris Wellhausen&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;h2&gt;Men\\u2019s Snowboarding slopestyle qualifiers at Sochi Olympics&lt;\\/h2&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;It\\u2019s no secret that the Canadians and Norwegians have some of the most promising Olympic slope teams. Well, after the debut of Olympic slopestyle today you can add the Finns to the list, too. Norway\\u2019s Stale Sandbech qualified top among the first heat of riders, followed by Finland\\u2019s Peetu Piiroinen, Canada\\u2019s Seb Toutant, and, England\\u2019s Jamie Nicholls, who pulled out a clutch Cab 1440. As for the concerns about the course being \\u201cdangerous\\u201d, or not built right, most riders were happy with the adjustments that had been made to it, while the rest had at least come to terms with the setup.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Top Runs From The First Heat Of Riders Qualified To Finals&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/1000220608\\/photos\\/canadians-norwegians-finns-crush-mens-slopestyle-qualifiers-sochi-olympics\\/attachment\\/stale-3\\/\\\" rel=\\\"attachment wp-att-1000220636\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000220636\\\" title=\\\"Stale_Sandbech_Sochi_Olympics\\\" alt=\\\"Stale_Sandbech_Sochi_Olympics\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2014\\/02\\/Stale-600x337.jpg\\\" width=\\\"600\\\" height=\\\"337\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/1000220608\\/photos\\/canadians-norwegians-finns-crush-mens-slopestyle-qualifiers-sochi-olympics\\/attachment\\/peetu\\/\\\" rel=\\\"attachment wp-att-1000220637\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000220637\\\" title=\\\"Peetu_Piiroinen_Sochi_Slopestyle\\\" alt=\\\"Peetu_Piiroinen_Sochi_Slopestyle\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2014\\/02\\/Peetu-600x337.jpg\\\" width=\\\"600\\\" height=\\\"337\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/1000220608\\/photos\\/canadians-norwegians-finns-crush-mens-slopestyle-qualifiers-sochi-olympics\\/attachment\\/seb\\/\\\" rel=\\\"attachment wp-att-1000220638\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000220638\\\" title=\\\"Seb_Toutant_Sochi_Oympic_Slopestyle\\\" alt=\\\"Seb_Toutant_Sochi_Oympic_Slopestyle\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2014\\/02\\/Seb-600x337.jpg\\\" width=\\\"600\\\" height=\\\"337\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/1000220608\\/photos\\/canadians-norwegians-finns-crush-mens-slopestyle-qualifiers-sochi-olympics\\/attachment\\/jamie-3\\/\\\" rel=\\\"attachment wp-att-1000220639\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000220639\\\" title=\\\"Jamie_Nicholls_Sochi_Olympic_Slopestyle\\\" alt=\\\"Jamie_Nicholls_Sochi_Olympic_Slopestyle\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2014\\/02\\/Jamie-600x337.jpg\\\" width=\\\"600\\\" height=\\\"337\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;In heat two it was Canada\\u2019s Max Parrot who took first, posting the highest score of the day, a 97.50 after stomping a huge backside triple cork to end his second run. Finland\\u2019s Roope Tonteri picked up the second qualifying position, and behind him was Sweden\\u2019s Sven Thorgren, and Norway\\u2019s Gjermund Braaten. Those rankings put two Canadian\\u2019s straight into the finals on Saturday, along with two Finns, and two Norwegians. That\\u2019s a strong showing for team Norway, even though &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/tag\\/torstein-horgmo\\/?linktext=Torstein Horgmo\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;Torstein Horgmo&lt;\\/a&gt;\\u2019s &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/1000220090\\/news\\/torstein-horgmo-breaks-collar-bone-sochi-olympic-slopestyle-practice\\/\\\"&gt;out of commission with a broken collarbone&lt;\\/a&gt;.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Top Runs From The Second Heat Of Riders Qualified To Finals&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/1000220608\\/photos\\/canadians-norwegians-finns-crush-mens-slopestyle-qualifiers-sochi-olympics\\/attachment\\/max\\/\\\" rel=\\\"attachment wp-att-1000220640\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000220640\\\" title=\\\"Max_Parrot_Sochi_Olympic_Slopestyle\\\" alt=\\\"Max_Parrot_Sochi_Olympic_Slopestyle\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2014\\/02\\/Max-600x337.jpg\\\" width=\\\"600\\\" height=\\\"337\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/1000220608\\/photos\\/canadians-norwegians-finns-crush-mens-slopestyle-qualifiers-sochi-olympics\\/attachment\\/roope\\/\\\" rel=\\\"attachment wp-att-1000220642\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000220642\\\" title=\\\"Roope_Tonteri_Sochi_Olympic_Slopestyle\\\" alt=\\\"Roope_Tonteri_Sochi_Olympic_Slopestyle\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2014\\/02\\/Roope-600x337.jpg\\\" width=\\\"600\\\" height=\\\"337\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/1000220608\\/photos\\/canadians-norwegians-finns-crush-mens-slopestyle-qualifiers-sochi-olympics\\/attachment\\/sven\\/\\\" rel=\\\"attachment wp-att-1000220641\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000220641\\\" title=\\\"Sven_Thorgren_Soch_Olympic_Slopestyle\\\" alt=\\\"Sven_Thorgren_Soch_Olympic_Slopestyle\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2014\\/02\\/Sven-600x337.jpg\\\" width=\\\"600\\\" height=\\\"337\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/1000220608\\/photos\\/canadians-norwegians-finns-crush-mens-slopestyle-qualifiers-sochi-olympics\\/attachment\\/gjermund\\/\\\" rel=\\\"attachment wp-att-1000220643\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000220643\\\" title=\\\"Gjermund_Braaten_Sochi_Olympic_Slopestyle\\\" alt=\\\"Gjermund_Braaten_Sochi_Olympic_Slopestyle\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2014\\/02\\/Gjermund-600x337.jpg\\\" width=\\\"600\\\" height=\\\"337\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Wait, weren\\u2019t six riders supposed to advance directly to finals after today\\u2019s qualifiers? Originally, yes but early in the morning it was announced that four riders would move on from each heat, putting eight straight to the finals, while the remaining four would come from Saturday\\u2019s semifinal. No official word on why the change was made.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Another curveball came to light this morning as well, when news spread that all of today\\u2019s riders would advance to semifinals no matter how they placed. That\\u2019s because no athlete can be eliminated from competition before the Olympics start, which isn\\u2019t officially until tomorrow when the opening ceremonies take place. So the top four qualifiers from today will still go straight to finals, while everyone else gets a second chance.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;That\\u2019s good news for Mark McMorris who didn\\u2019t qualify through to finals. Mark wasn\\u2019t looking as confident as he normally is and his riding seemed more guarded, no doubt a side effect of the broken rib he suffered at X Games just two weeks ago. They say even if you\\u2019ve overcome a physical injury, it takes more time to heal mentally. But after falling during his first run on a Cab double cork 900 Mark focused and stomped a sick second run with his backside triple cork 1440 that scored surprisingly low.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cI landed one of the only legitimate triple corks of the day and I didn&amp;#8217;t even come close\\u2014It\\u2019s pretty ridiculous,\\u201d Mark said. \\u201cBut it\\u2019s judged sport, what can you do?\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;As for the rib, Mark said that he didn\\u2019t feel it all during his second run until the impact on the last jump. He added that now all he\\u2019s focused on is making the final on Saturday. &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/1000220730\\/photos\\/questionable-judging-dogs-sochi-olympic-slopestyle-qualifiers\\/\\\"&gt;More on the judging here&lt;\\/a&gt;.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;A shout out to British rider Billy Morgan who started everything off and took the first ever Olympic slopestyle run today. He also landed the first triple cork of the contest.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;The men\\u2019s gold medal slopestyle finals go down on Saturday.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Heat 1 Advance Directly To Finals&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Staale Sandbech&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Peetu Piiroinen&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Sebastien Toutant&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Jamie Nicholls&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Heat 2\\u00a0&lt;strong&gt;Advance Directly To Finals&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Max Parrot&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Roope Tonteri&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Sven Thorgren&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Gjermund Braaten&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;h2 style=\\\"text-align: center;\\\"&gt;&lt;span style=\\\"color: #0000ff;\\\"&gt;&lt;a title=\\\"Sochi Winter Olympics\\\" href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/tag\\/olympics\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" data-ls-seen=\\\"1\\\"&gt;&lt;span style=\\\"color: #0000ff;\\\"&gt;More Sochi 2014 Olympic stories here&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/h2&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_1000220671\\\" style=\\\"width: 600px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption aligncenter\\\"&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/tag\\/olympics\\/\\\" rel=\\\"attachment wp-att-1000220671\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"size-medium wp-image-1000220671\\\" title=\\\"Stale_Sandbech_Sochi_Olympics\\\" alt=\\\"Stale_Sandbech_Sochi_Olympics\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2014\\/02\\/06_Stale_Sandbech_Sochi_Olympics_Chris_WellhausenB-600x400.jpg\\\" width=\\\"600\\\" height=\\\"400\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;Stale Sandbech and backside 1440 are heading to the medal round on Saturday. PHOTO: Chris Wellhausen.&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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