Ben Squires
International Travel

Aussie skier “robbed” at the Winter Olympics after rival falls over

It wouldn’t be the Winter Olympics if there wasn’t some sort of judging controversy, but the latest scandal to hit the games, involving Australian aerial skier David Morris, is leaving many viewers Down Under with a bad taste in their mouths. 

Fans across Australia were shocked with Morris was denied a spot at the business end of the competition, with many feeling he was let down by the judge’s scorecard. 

Morris, who is competing in his last Olympics, needed to place in the top nine to make the cut, and while his initial score of 111.95 had him in fourth, once the rest of the field started making clean jumps it was clear he was in trouble. 

One of the competitors to follow Morris was Chinese athlete Jia Zongyang who was given a score of 118.55, despite clearly tumbling the landing as you can see below. 

This left Morris to place in 10th, and pulled the curtain on his Olympic career. 

“David didn’t have the perfect jump,” Seven commentator and Morris’s fellow freestyle skier Lydia Lassila said after the Australian was knocked out.

“This is a tough competition. Jia fell over after an uncontrolled landing.

“He was not in control on that landing. He fell over. So 118 for that I’m in disbelief. It’s really unfortunate.

“They (the judges) have got to seriously review what they have decided upon tonight.”

However, in true Australian spirit Morris was gracious in defeat.

“10th in Olympics is fantastic. It’s my third games. This is a fantastic competition. Everyone has been putting down huge jumps. Nothing to be disappointed about,” Morris said.

“I think a couple of us are confused about that,” Morris said.

“My coach went and asked the judges, they gave him four metres of controlled skiing which is what counts for a landing.

“You can watch replays and slow mo and argue as much as you want. They gave him a four-metre stance where he had control.

“I can’t argue it. Tough luck for me. That’s how these sports go.”

What do you think? Do you think Morris was robbed?

Tags:
Travel, International, Winter Olympics, PyeongChang, South Korean, David Morris