Canada's Max Parrot wins Laureus "Comeback of the Year" award

On Thursday, Canada’s Max Parrot was named the Comeback of the Year winner by the Laureus World Sports Awards for his incredible return to form after battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

On 17 January 2019, he announced he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and had started a six-month course of chemotherapy. In August, two months after his final round of treatment, he won the X-Games big air event in Oslo.

He kept that momentum going in 2020 with a win at his first World Cup back in action at the Beijing Air + Style - a test event for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games - and with X-Games golds in big air in January in Aspen and slopestyle in Norway in March.

"Winning this award is very special to me. I can easily say that it is my biggest achievement," Parrot said in his acceptance speech. "It's a recognition that I am extremely proud of. I share it with the many important people in my life that took part in this journey with me. The Laureus Academy told me they were inspired by my story and who I am as a person. This just inspires me to accomplish so much more."

In 2020/21 Parrot opened his campaign with a win at the Kreischberg big air World Cup, before then taking big air silver at the Aspen 2021 World Championships, and his quest for a third Olympic medal next year in Beijing continues to charge ahead full-steam.

The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year. It was established in 1999, and the awards support the work of Laureus Sport for Good, which supports over 160 community projects in more than 40 countries. These programmes aim to use the power of sport to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage, and prove that sport has the power to change the world.