Canadian snowboarder Max Parrot has given fans the ultimate comeback story in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Just three years after being diagnosed with cancer, the 27-year-old Olympian won gold in the Beijing Winter Games on Monday.
CNN reports that Parrot was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in December 2018, just months after he won silver in the men's slopestyle event at the PyeongChang games.
However, he didn't let the diagnosis stop him and has now gone one better, taking home his first-ever Olympic gold medal thanks to a high score of 90.96 in the men's slopestyle at the Genting Snow Park.
He was joined on the podium by 17-year-old Chinese boarder Su Yiming, whose top score of 88.70 earned him the silver medal, and fellow Canadian Mark McMorris who took home the bronze.
Bloodcancer.org describes Hodgkin's lymphoma as "a type of cancer that affects your lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell)" which "means your body is less able to fight off infections".
Parrot underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy to fight the disease before finally announcing in July 2019 that he had "won" against cancer.
After his victory in Beijing, Parrot reflected on the struggle he had faced over the past four years.
"At times, I felt like I was a lion in a cage because I wasn't able to do what I love the most, which is snowboarding," he said, adding: "That was the first time in my life that I had to put my snowboard in the closet."
The seven-time X Games champion went on to say that his battle with cancer has only given him more reason to love his sport.
"Every time I strap my feet onto my snowboard, I appreciate it so much more than before. I appreciate being able to do my passion every day," said said.
As for his big-scoring run in the Genting Arena - in which he landed two consecutive triples - Parrot said he was "extremely proud' of himself.
"I kept telling everyone I want to grab a gold. And to have it finally at my third Olympics feels really amazing," he said, adding: "I am extremely proud of myself and to take gold on that run means so much for me."
Congratulations, Max! A truly inspirational story for million of people out there!
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