Early in 2013 a 13-year-old Norwegian named Marcus Kleveland landed a triple cork, three off-axis flips in a single jump, on a big kicker at Vierli. Torstein Horgmo had landed the first triple cork only about three years earlier, and Red Bull’s clip of the boy riding away cleanly was the first sign of one of the great snowboarding careers.
The 2013 triple cork at Vierli
A triple cork is an off-axis spin in which the rider goes upside down three times before landing. Kleveland had practised the movement on the trampoline at home before taking it to snow. His first attempt came at the Red Bull Performance Camp in Sun Valley, Idaho, the previous season, but the jump there was too small and he came down on ice.
Back in Norway, on a purpose-built jump, he got the rotation round and stomped the landing. Snowboard Magazine ran the clip on 14 March 2013 under the headline “13-year-old Marcus Kleveland stomps triple cork”, and the American rider Louie Vito was among the professionals who praised him. The same year Kleveland turned professional.
From Dombås to the X Games
Kleveland was born in Lillehammer on 25 April 1999 and grew up in Dombås, in the mountains of central Norway. His rise after the Vierli clip was fast. In November 2016 he won the World Cup event in Milan, and in 2017 he became the first rider ever to land a quad cork 1800, four flips and five full rotations, in competition.
At 17 he also won X Games slopestyle gold in Aspen in 2017. By 2026 his Winter X Games tally stood at:
- 8 gold medals: slopestyle 2017 and 2018; knuckle huck 2020 (X Games Norway), 2022 and 2023; big air 2021, 2022 and 2023
- 6 silver medals: big air 2017 and 2018 (twice, including X Games Norway); slopestyle 2022, 2023 and 2026
- 1 bronze medal: knuckle huck 2026
World titles and Olympic Games
Kleveland is a two-time world champion in slopestyle, winning in Aspen in 2021 and in Bakuriani, Georgia, in 2023. He also took big air bronze at the 2017 World Championships in Sierra Nevada and again in Aspen in 2021.
At the Olympics he finished sixth in slopestyle and 18th in big air at PyeongChang 2018, aged 18, and eighth in slopestyle at Beijing 2022. He went on to compete at Milano Cortina 2026.
Learning big jumps step by step
Kleveland’s path is a model for young riders: build the movement on a trampoline and airbag, then take it to snow on a well-shaped jump with a proper landing. Start in a resort terrain park on small features, wear a helmet and back protector, and move up one size at a time.
For ideas on where to ride, see terrain parks and choosing suitable features, or watch a different specialist jump seen from the athlete’s view.
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