From chemo to Olympic gold medal
Canadian cancer survivor reflects on inspiring journey to slopestyle triumph
Max Parrot was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in late 2018. In four years, the Canadian snowboarder not only beat cancer but also the world’s top slopestyle snowboarders to win Olympic gold at Beijing 2022. As he said himself, he deserves to crack open a beer to toast his inspirational comeback.
“The 12 rounds of chemotherapy was the hardest thing I have been through in my life. I had no energy at all. After getting through that and be back out here winning an Olympic gold medal, it feels amazing,” the 27-year-old said following the medal presentation ceremony in Zhangjiakou on Feb 7.
Unable to do what he most loves on the slopes during his health problems, Parrot said he felt like a caged lion. “I’ve been snowboarding since I was 9 years old, and that was the first time in my life that I had to put my snowboard in the closet.”
Parrot was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma — a rare type of cancer that affects the white blood cells — soon after winning slopestyle silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and just four days before Christmas after suffering swollen lymph nodes in his neck.
According to the American Cancer Society, nearly nine in 10 people diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma have a five-year survival rate.
Parrot said he had no choice but to focus on the day-to-day battle as he grappled with the possibility of death.
“The hardest part was coming through the end. I even thought about quitting treatment. After five months of going to hospital and having no life, not doing the sport I love, everything was taken away from me and it was really hard,” he said.
Without a doubt, his comeback is one of the most inspirational stories of Beijing 2022.
On Feb 7, the three-time Olympian was able to land all his tricks to earn 90.96 points — the only score in the 90s. He described his winning run as the best of his career. “I’ve never done two triples (triple cork jumps) in a row during a run, with that difficulty as well, and everything was so clean. I am extremely proud of myself.”
He executed a unique ride through the rails, which are buffeted by iceformed replicas of the Great Wall, followed by three straight triple corks off the massive kickers to help secure victory on his second run.
“It’s really cool to bring the cultural element into the slope. The course was perfect, everything was perfect,” Parrot said of the course.
Beating cancer has changed him as a person and an athlete. “It definitely makes you a lot stronger mentally. Every time I strap my feet onto my snowboard, I appreciate it so much more than before,” he said. “You’re smiling more, everything’s more positive.
You put less pressure on yourself, less stress on yourself.”
To inspire others and send the message that people can overcome any challenge in life, Parrot recorded his battle against cancer in a self-produced documentary entitled Max: Life as a Gold Medal. He is also a spokesperson for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Parrot is the living embodiment of the adage, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Back to competition less than two months after his final round of chemotherapy, he has now snatched slopestyle gold and is set to compete in the Big Air competition
on Feb 15.
Of Parrot’s 15 major titles, 11 have come in Big Air, and he will be looking to add another medal. Whatever the outcome, Parrot has already won gold in the battle against cancer.
“For sure, I was scared a lot of the time. You don’t know how the treatment is going to work. You don’t know what life has got in store for you. I was healthy. I was 24 years old. I was an athlete. And I got cancer. It proves it can happen to anybody. But I never gave cancer a chance. I fought so hard every day to beat cancer,” he said.
With a roar on Feb 7, the caged lion is free and ready to strike.