Three years ago, wiped out after 12 sessions of chemotherapy for cancer, it was the dream of winning an Olympic gold medal that kept snowboarder Max Parrot motivated. Today, the 27-year-old Canadian saw his hard work pay off as he celebrated victory in the Beijing Olympic slopestyle event. “I used to take life for granted and I don’t anymore,” said Parrot, who won slopestyle silver at the 2018 Winter Games before being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “Every time I strap my feet onto the snowboard I appreciate it so much more.” The victory was not without controversy, however, with the judges apparently failing to notice Parrot grabbing his knee instead of his board on one of his jumps. If the judges had seen what a BBC commentator called “a blatant knee-grab,” the gold would have gone instead to the 17-year-old Chinese debutant Su Yiming.