Liam Gill to replace injured Derek Livingston on Canadian snowboard team

Canada’s Derek Livingston will not compete in men’s snowboard halfpipe at the Beijing Olympics after sustaining a lower-body injury during a recent training run.

Livingston, from Aurora, Ont., will be replaced by Calgary’s Liam Gill in the event.

The 18-year-old Gill, who learned he was moving from alternate to Olympian only days before the team charter left for Beijing, will be the second-youngest member of the Canadian snowboarding contingent.

Livingston said he is “devastated” that he won’t be participating in the Games but is excited that Gill gets an opportunity.

Gill, a member of the Liidlii Kue First Nation, is the only Indigenous athlete on the Canadian snowboard team.

Snowboard halfpipe competition runs Feb. 9-11 at Genting Snow Park.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2022.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled ‘Livingston’ in the second paragraph.