Billy Morgan’s quad-cork 1800 is shown in sequence; photo courtesy of Red Bull UK
Snowboarding continues to evolve, with high-flying athletes striving to add extra rotations and flips, seeming at times to defy the laws of physics. And whether that’s good or bad for the sport, as debated below, is a matter of opinion.
British snowboarder Billy Morgan is the latest to have generated headlines–and draw criticism–after landing the first-ever quadruple-cork 1800 this week in Livigno, Italy.
That’s five full rotations while spinning four off-axis flips, and somehow landing upright. (It seems like only yesterday that double-cork tricks were a big deal.)
“So Stoked. I’ve been thinking about this for so long, it’s such a relief to have it done,” Morgan said afterward. “It could be cleaner, but I’m still pumped!”
Morgan’s quad-cork 1800 is the biggest trick in snowboarding since Japan’s Yuki Kadano landed a triple-cork 1620 at the recent U.S. Open slopestyle competition.
Billy Morgan flipping and spinning a quad-cork 1800; video screen grab
The comments on Morgan’s Facebook page are almost all positive–“You’re ruining snowboarding,” one person joked–but it seems that not everybody is a fan of his brief hand-drag during the landing, or so much emphasis being placed on rotations and flips.
“Snowboarding is about style, not gymnastics,” reads a comment shared by Whitelines.
“A fully tweaked method [air] or clean laid-out backflip is much more appealing,” reads another comment.
Morgan’s trick was landed on a big-air jump. The same type of criticism has been applied to halfpipe riding, where much of the emphasis remains on revolutions and off-axis flips.
This just seems to be the natural progression, much as aerials are to competitive surfing. So regardless of opinion, Morgan’s feat should be recognized simply for what it is: an incredible snowboarding accomplishment.
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