02/09/26 18:01
When Crosby scored the golden goal, many of his Canadian teammates were still just kids
- Grant Robertson and Paul Attfield
From the 19-year-old Celebrini to the 30-year-old MacKinnon, everyone has a memory of one of hockey’s most memorable goals.TODD KOROL/Reuters
Sam Reinhart remembers exactly where he was when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal.
He was 14 years old and Reinhart was in Vancouver watching the men’s hockey final of the 2010 Olympics at his family’s home. When Crosby scored the overtime winner off a pass from Jerome Iginla, it caused bedlam in the Reinhart household.
“I was jumping up and down on my couch,” Reinhart, of the Florida Panthers, said this fall at Team Canada’s orientation camp in Calgary. “There was definitely some rearranging of furniture going on after that one.”
Not all of Crosby’s teammates on the Canadian Olympic team share such a vivid recollection.
The average age of the 25-man squad vying for hockey gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics is 29 years and 10 months.
At 38, Crosby is the oldest player. Macklin Celebrini, who made the team at 19, is the youngest.
Celebrini wants to say he remembers the goal, but in reality, he was not yet four years old.
“I mean, not really,” Celebrini said recently after a San Jose Sharks practice. Most likely, he said any recollections he has come from rewatching it.
02/09/26 17:49
Opinion: If Eileen Gu seems to have it all, it’s because she does
- Eric Reguly
China's Eileen Gu won silver in women's freestyle skiing slopestyle today.Fabrizio Troccoli/The Globe and Mail
Sheer physical talent does not solely define Olympic heroes. The ‘star’ formula is also a blend of resolve in the face of setbacks, emotional control, charm, an absorbing backstory, sponsorship success, brand-name recognition, language eloquence, and – yes – glamour and good looks.
At Milan Cortina, a few athletes check many or most of the boxes, none more so than Eileen Gu, the American-Chinese superstar freestyle skier who made her Milan Cortina Olympic debut on Monday. By then, fever for Lindsey Vonn, who crashed out of the women’s downhill in Cortina on Sunday, had been quickly replaced by fever for Gu in Livigno.
Gu won silver in the freestyle slopestyle event on a sunny afternoon, a disappointment for her but more than enough to boost her already-formidable fame. The second-place finish – Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud took gold and bronze went to Canada’s Megan Oldham – took Gu’s lifetime Olympic medal tally to four. Not bad for a 22-year-old.
If she seems to have it all, it’s because she does: Talent, medals galore, youth, wealth, fame, telegenic good looks, and a formidable drive and passion for winning that has made her an inspiration among millions of young women and men – mostly women – all over the world.
Read the full story about Eileen Gu.
02/09/26 17:34
Poulin injury overshadows Canada’s 5-1 win over Czechia
- Grant Robertson
Canada's Marie-Philip Poulin went down in the first period after a hard hit by Kristyna Kaltounkova.Carolyn Kaster/The Associated Press
Canada won its round-robin game against Czechia 5-1, but Captain Marie-Philip Poulin’s departure overshadowed the victory.
Considered world’s best women’s hockey player, Poulin grimaced in pain as she skated to the bench, elevating her right skate as she glided gingerly off the ice in the first period. After she did not come out for the second period, Team Canada officials announced she was done for the night.
An injury to Poulin would be a catastrophic blow to Canada at the Olympics.
Prior to the injury the Czechs appeared to be targeting Poulin, with multiple players hitting her whenever she was near the puck.
As they did with the Czechs, the Canadians can overpower most of the field at these Olympics without Poulin. But if they are to challenge the United States, their biggest rivals for gold, a healthy Poulin is crucial.
Canada out-shot Czechia 34-19, with goals from Kristin O’Neill, Sarah Fillier, Laura Stacey and two from Julia Gosling. Natálie Mlýnková scored a power-play goal to put the Czechs on the board mid-way through the final period.
02/09/26 17:29
Ukrainian Olympian says IOC banned helmet showing athletes killed in war
Vladyslav Heraskevych holds his helmet with images of compatriots killed during Russia's war in Ukraine.Cristiano Corvino/Reuters
Ukrainian skeleton competitor Vladyslav Heraskevych said on Monday he had been told by an IOC representative that he was banned from wearing a helmet at the Milano Cortina Games showing images of the country’s athletes killed during the war in Ukraine.
He said Toshio Tsurunaga, IOC representative in charge of communications between athletes, national Olympic committees and the IOC, had gone to the Athletes’ Village to tell him.
”He said it’s because of rule 50,” said Heraskevych.
Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
- Reuters
02/09/26 17:27
Team USA did not use Tate McRae song to ‘troll’ Canada as AI video claimed
A viral video posted to Instagram Friday claimed to show Team USA 'trolling' Team Canada has been debunked as AI-generated.HO/The Canadian Press
A video posted to Instagram Friday that claimed to show Team USA “trolling” Team Canada at the opening ceremony was actually AI-generated.
In the video, athletes walk through a stadium while the song “Just Keep Watching” by Canadian singer Tate McRae plays in the background.
“Walking in to a Tate McRae track. You gotta think they’re trolling their neighbours to the North,” an announcer says.
The video ends with a screenshot of a CBC video about the backlash McRae received for appearing in an NBC Olympics advertisement that promoted Team USA, despite the singer being Canadian.
But a frame-by-frame analysis of the video shows multiple signs it is fake and generated by AI, including issues with the Union Jack flag having two red crosses instead of one.
The account that posted the videos has a history of generating AI fakes with sports themes. In its Instagram bio, the page describes itself as posting “hot takes and not-so-deep fakes.”
- The Canadian Press
02/09/26 17:18
Lindsey Vonn says ‘I have no regrets’ after downhill crash
- Rachel Brady
Lindsey Vonn sustained a complex tibia fracture that is stable but will require multiple surgeries, said the U.S alpine ski racer in her first statement since crashing out of the Winter Olympics.
Vonn broke her silence in an Instagram post on Monday, saying she has “no regrets” about competing in Sunday’s women’s downhill event. She’d been trying to make an Olympic comeback at age 41 when she crashed just 13.4 seconds into her run and was airlifted off the mountain.
She said the crash was unrelated to a torn ACL she had suffered while competing on Jan.30.
“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash,” read the post. “My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.”
She said despite the intense physical pain it caused, she had no regrets and that life is about taking risks.
“Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget,” she continued. “Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.”
02/09/26 17:14
No update on Poulin injury, but won’t return to Canada-Czechia game
Captain Marie-Philip Poulin was not on the bench for the second period, and with her side 5-0 up going into the final period, a spokesperson for Team Canada told Reuters that the 34-year-old would not be returning, but gave no update on her condition.
- Reuters
02/09/26 17:04
Gilles and Poirier in third place, Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry in first after rhythm dance
- Robyn Doolittle
Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier compete in the rhythm dance event.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are sitting in third place after the Rhythm Dance, edging out the British team of Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson.
The Canadians and British duos have been swapping placings over the past year and will be battling for the bronze medal in ice dance.
During Friday’s figure skating team event’s rhythm dance, Fear and Gibson pushed Gilles and Poirier to fourth. Things flipped Monday.
Gilles and Poirier finished the event with 86.18 compared to the British team’s score of 85.47. France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron finished in first Monday with a score of 90.18, while reigning World Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States were close behind in second with 89.72.
Speaking to reporters after the skate, Gilles said that their Friday skate was likely a result of some Olympic nerves.
“I think we came into this competition very strong, very confident, very ready. And I think the team event, we wanted it too much and we over skated it,” Gilles said. “We knew we didn’t want that to happen today.”
Added Poirier: “I think today we were so focused and present and really let the skating come to us, really give each step its value and its time, and that’s the kind of skating we know we’re capable of.”
The podium will be decided on Wednesday in the free program.
02/09/26 16:42
Concerns for Poulin injury as Canada leads Czechia 5-0 after second period
- Moira Wyton
Canada extended its lead over the Czechs in the second period and held them scoreless at 5-0 without captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who sustained an apparent knee injury after a hit by Czechia’s Kristyna Kaltounkova in the first period.
Julia Gosling’s goal just 17-seconds into the second period was her second of the game. Canada outshot Czechia 30-10 in the first two periods.
Poulin returned to the bench in the first but did not take another shift. After testing her knee between periods, she did not return to the bench for the second period.
Considered the best women’s hockey player in the world, Poulin is a cornerstone of the Canadian team preparing to face rival Team USA tomorrow.
02/09/26 16:07
Canada scores on Czechia 17 seconds into second period
- Moira Wyton
Canada's Julia Gosling scores a gaol against Czechia's goalkeeper Michaela Hesova.Carolyn Kaster/The Associated Press
The second period began with a bang as Julia Gosling scored her second of the game just 17 seconds in. Canada now leads Czechia 5-0.
Canada outshot the Czechs 17-5 in the first period. Czechia pulled goalie Julie Pejšová after she allowed three goals, including two goals in under 40 seconds, in the first period, putting in Michaela Hesová instead.
02/09/26 16:05
Watch: The first few days of the Olympics for a Globe reporter
Like many journalists sent to cover the Olympics, Robyn Doolittle travelled thousands of kilometres to get to the Milano Cortina Winter Games. Here’s what her first few days looked like.
02/09/26 15:51
Canada takes 4-0 lead over Czechia after first period
- Moira Wyton
Julia Gosling scored a power-play goal to extend Canada's lead 4-0.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The reigning Olympic champions have a 4-goal lead over the Czechs after the first period of the women’s hockey round-robin game.
Kristin O’Neill of the New York Sirens opened the scoring less than six minutes in, assisted by the Toronto Sceptres’ Renata Fast.
Canada tripled its lead with two goals within 40 seconds, the first by the Sirens’ Sarah Fillier just after the 13-minute mark and the second from the Montreal Victoire’s Laura Stacey shortly after.
With just over a minute to go, Julia Gosling of the Seattle Torrent scored on the powerplay to make it 4-0.
Captain Marie-Philip Poulin left the first period with an apparent injury and though she returned, she did not take a shift.
02/09/26 15:45
Poulin returns to Canada bench after apparent injury
Marie-Philip Poulin, centre, is back on Canada's bench after leaving the first period with an apparent injury.David W Cerny/Reuters
Canada women’s hockey team captain Marie-Philip Poulin has returned to bench at the Canada-Czechia game at the Olympics, drawing a loud cheer from the crowd at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.
Poulin left the game halfway through the first period after a check from Kristyna Kaltounkova that left the star forward in visible distress, and she had left for the changing room after briefly returning to the ice.
Poulin did not re-enter the game in the first period despite returning to the bench.
- The Canadian Press
02/09/26 15:36
US guaranteed berth in Olympic baseball and softball at 2028 L.A. Summer Games
The United States will have an automatic berth in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic baseball and softball tournaments and the top two other nations from the Americas in next month’s World Baseball Classic will earn berths.
Major League Baseball hopes big leaguers will be able to participate in the six-nation tournament, to be played at Dodger Stadium from July 13-19 during what could be an extended All-Star break. An agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association is needed.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation said Monday that the top two World Baseball Classic nations in the Americas not already qualified can earn Olympic berths. Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama. Puerto Rico and Venezuela are in the WBC field.
One team from Asia and one team from Europe/Oceania can qualify from this November’s WBSC Premier 12 tournament.
- The Associated Press
02/09/26 15:10
Canada vs. Czechia women’s hockey game begins
- Moira Wyton
Ann-Renée Desbiens started in goal for Team Canada's women's hockey game against Czechia.David W Cerny/Reuters
Canada’s women’s hockey team is continuing its defence of its Olympic title with a round-robin game against Czechia at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.
Ann-Renée Desbiens is starting in net for Canada while the Czechs have goaltender Julie Pejšová.
After Canada’s first game against Finland was postponed due to norovirus on the Finnish side, the reigning Olympic champs won their opener against Switzerland 4-0 on Saturday.
Czechia has had a tougher start to the tournament, losing their opener 5-1 to the United States and then falling to Switzerland in a 4-3 shootout loss.
02/09/26 14:34
Canadian musician accuses U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn of copyright violation
Canadian artist Seb McKinnon, who produces music under the name CLANN, took to social media late Sunday to object to the use of his song “The Return,” which Amber Glenn had used in her free skate over the weekend — and has been using for the past two years without issue.
“So just found out an Olympic figure skater used one of my songs without permission for their routine. It aired all over the world ... what? Is that usual practice for the Olympics?” McKinnon posted to X, shortly after the team competition had ended.
Figure skaters are required to obtain permission for the music they use, but that process is hardly straightforward.
According to McKinnon, “The deal I have with my label is that I alone can give the OK to license my music.” McKinnon later said that he’d be looking into the situation, but did congratulate Glenn: “And plus she won Gold??? Huge congratz,” he posted.
Glenn was not available for comment on the music issue Monday, and U.S. Figure Skating did not return messages left about the problem.
- The Associated Press
02/09/26 14:27
Anarchists claim responsibility for rail sabotage after Olympics protests crackdowns
An anarchist group claimed responsibility on Monday for sabotaging rail infrastructure in northern Italy on Saturday and disrupting train traffic on the first full day of the Games.
Police reported three separate episodes at different locations early on Saturday which caused delays of up to 2-1/2 hours for high-speed and regional services, particularly around the city of Bologna.
No one was injured and no trains were damaged.
In a statement circulated online, an anarchist group said a progressive crackdown on demonstrations by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had made confrontation on the streets “ineffective” and meant they had to find other forms of protest.
“It therefore seems necessary to adopt clandestine methods, decentralise the conflict and multiply its fronts, and turn to self-defence and sabotage in order to survive the times ahead,” the anarchist statement said.
There was no immediate comment from the police on the statement. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who heads the Transport Ministry, vowed to catch the anarchists.
- Reuters
02/09/26 14:23
Lindsey Vonn’s father says he hopes skier will retire for good
Lindsey Vonn crashed Sunday and has since undergone surgery on her leg.Uncredited/The Associated Press
Lindsey Vonn’s father said Monday that the American superstar will no longer race if he has any influence over her decision and that she will not return to the Winter Olympics after breaking her leg in the downhill over the weekend.
“She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” Alan Kildow said in a telephone interview. “There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”
Kildow, a former ski-racer himself, and the rest of Vonn’s family — a brother and two sisters, too — have been with Vonn while she is being treated at a hospital in Treviso following her fall and helicopter evacuation from the course in Cortina on Sunday.
The hospital late Sunday released a statement saying Vonn had undergone surgery on her left leg and the U.S. Ski Team said she was in stable condition. There have not been other updates since.
Kildow declined to comment on details of Vonn’s injuries, but he did address how she was doing emotionally.
“She’s a very strong individual,” Kildow said. “She knows physical pain and she understands the circumstances that she finds herself in. And she’s able to handle it. Better than I expected. She’s a very, very strong person. And so I think she’s handling it real well.”
- The Associated Press
02/09/26 14:20
Winter Olympics a family affair for Canadian ice dancer Marjorie Lajoie
- Robyn Doolittle
Lajoie’s mother Julie Carignan holds the Canadian flag with the family's contingent at the Games.Courtesy of family
About 20 members of Canadian ice dancer Marjorie Lajoie’s family were on site at the Milano Ice Skating Arena Monday night to watch the rhythm dance event.
Lajoie and her partner Zachary Lagha — the three-time Canadian silver medalists — competed in the 2022 Beijing Games, but because of COVID restrictions, her family wasn’t allowed to come.
“This time we said we’re all going,” said Julie Carignan, Lajoie’s mother. “Family, friends, uncles, aunts, my parents — they’re 80 years old and they came here — my two sons, we are all here.”
The ice dance event is Canada’s best shot at a medal in figure skating, but five teams are vying for three spots on the podium: Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates and France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron are fighting for the gold, Gilles and Poirier will be battling Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson for bronze, with the Italians Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri waiting in the wings as a dark horse contender.
Carignan said watching her daughter fulfill a lifelong dream has been an “intense and unbelievable” experience. Like so many families of elite athletes, Lajoie’s loved ones have also spent years sacrificing for this moment.
Carignan said her husband had to take 3 years off work in order to be available to drive Lajoie to all of her practices and manage the homefront with their other children.
Watching her compete in Milan makes it all worth it. Carignan said it takes an entire community to raise an Olympian.
“It’s a collective victory,” she said.
02/09/26 14:07
Canada-born goalie helps Italy women’s hockey team make first Olympic quarterfinal
- Globe staff and The Canadian Press
Italy's Gabriella Frances Durante was born in Calgary.Petr David Josek/The Associated Press
A Canada-born goalie helped Italy’s women’s hockey team secure a place in the quarterfinals today with a 3-2 win over Japan.
Gabriella Durante, who was born in Calgary and previously played for the University of Calgary Dinos, says the knockout berth is “everybody’s dream coming true.”
“Hopefully this just grows hockey in Italia that much more for little girls all over the country,” said the 25-year-old, who saved 27 of 29 shots in today’s game.
The result is a massive improvement over the host country’s first and only other Olympic appearance at the 2006 Turin Games, where it went 0-4 and finished last among the eight-team field.
Germany has also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 overtime win over France.
02/09/26 13:48
Germany’s Taubitz, Fraebel set track records in women’s luge singles
Julia Taubitz is looking for gold after overcoming a disastrous crash at the 2022 Winter Olympics.Al Bello/Getty Images
German duo Julia Taubitz and Merle Fraebel wasted little time in stamping their authority all over the women’s luge singles today, both posting track records to sit one and two at the halfway stage, with six hundredths of a second between them.
Germany have won 12 of the 16 available Olympic women’s singles golds, including the last seven, and though another looks a to be certainty on Tuesday, who stands on top of the podium remains to be seen.
Taubitz has eight golds and seven silvers across various world championship events and is a five-times overall World Cup winner but has unfinished business when it comes to the Olympics.
Four years ago in Beijing she set a track record with her opening run but had a disastrous crash at the end of her second and eventually finished seventh.
Taubitz was first out of the gate on Monday and was faultless, especially in a charging bottom half, as she posted a track record of 52.638 seconds.
That record lasted only a few minutes, however, as Fraebel got just inside it with 52.590. Fraebel, 22, followed up with 52.659, only for Taubitz to roar back with yet another track record of 52.550 to snatch a halfway lead of 0.061 seconds.
- Reuters
02/09/26 13:22
Ice dancers Gilles and Poirier to begin medal campaign with rhythm event
- Globe Staff
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are aiming for the ice dance podium at Milan Cortina.Stephanie Scarbrough/The Associated Press
Figure skating continues today with the ice dance rhythm dance starting at 1:20 p.m. ET today, and three Canadian duos will be in competition.
Toronto’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., were silver medallists at the last two world championships and will skate at 4:20 p.m. ET.
Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac will take the ice at 2:27 p.m. ET, and Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha will begin at 3:48 p.m. ET.
02/09/26 12:57
Jutta Leerdam wins record-setting 1000m speed skating gold with fiancé Jake Paul in stands
Jutta Leerdam of Netherlands celebrates after winning gold and setting a new Olympic record for the women's 1000m.Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters
Twice world champion Jutta Leerdam delivered the Netherlands their first gold medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics on Monday by winning the women’s speed skating 1000m crown in a new Olympic record time.
Fellow Dutchwoman Femke Kok and Japan’s most decorated female Olympian Miho Takagi took silver and bronze respectively.
Canada’s Béatrice Lamarche fell just short of the podium, finishing fifth after temporarily holding a medal position.
Lamarche, from Quebec, held third place entering the event’s last pairing but was pushed out after the Leerdam finished first and Takagi reached third, taking bronze.
Two other Canadians, Prince George, B.C.’s Carolina Hiller-Donnelly and Rose Laliberté-Roy from Lévis, Que., finished 26th and 27th, respectively.
- Reuters and The Canadian Press
Lamarche just missed the podium in the 1000m event.DANIEL MUNOZ/AFP/Getty Images
02/09/26 12:37
Legendary moguls skier Mikaël Kingsbury heads to his last Olympics
- Eric Reguly
Kingsbury, the most decorated moguls skier in history, was Canada's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of what will be his last Olympics.David Ramos/Getty Images
Mikaël Kingsbury has nothing left to prove.
At the Milan Cortina Winter Games, the world’s most decorated moguls skier is not even planning to perform his signature “1440” – four aerial rotations, or 1440 degrees of spin – though is not ruling out the spectacular manoeuvre if the conditions on the slope, and in his mind, are right for it.
“Really, I just want to ski and have fun,” he said in an interview two weeks before the men’s moguls’ final on Feb. 12, in Livigno, one of the Olympic towns in the Italian Alps.
Read the full story on Kingsbury’s legacy.
02/09/26 11:53
Chloe Kim says U.S. Olympians have right to speak up after Trump criticizes Hunter Hess
Hunter Hess of the United States reacts while competing in the men's freeski halfpipe final during the Toyota US Grand Prix 2025 in December.Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
American athletes have the right to speak their minds, double Olympic snowboarding champion Chloe Kim said on Monday, stepping into a row that has spilled from the Italian Alps into U.S. politics.
“I’m really proud to represent the United States,” Kim, a two-time Olympic gold medallist in the halfpipe, told a press conference held by the women’s U.S. snowboarding team in the mountain venue of Livigno on Monday.
“The U.S. has given my family and I so much opportunity. But I also think that we are allowed to voice our opinions on what’s going on. And I think we need to lead with love and compassion and I would like to see some more of that.”
Her comments came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump labelled freestyle skier Hunter Hess a “real loser” for admitting he felt conflicted about representing his country at the Milan Cortina Games.
Hess had said it was “a little hard” to wear U.S. colours given his unease about events at home, remarks that ignited a social media storm and drew Trump’s rebuke on Truth Social.
The exchange has sharpened a broader debate about whether Olympians should express personal views on the global stage.
American Olympic medallist Gus Kenworthy, competing for his birth nation Britain at the Games, was pulled into the same culture clash after saying he got “awful messages” for posting an anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) slogan, apparently etched with urine in the snow to his followers.
Together the episodes have turned athlete expression into one of the Games’ unexpected fault lines.
– Reuters
02/09/26 11:08
Opinion: Where’s Mark Carney? Sadly, not where he should be: the Olympics
– Cathal Kelly
Prime Minister Mark Carney waves holding a challenge coin as he speaks to guests at the Black History Month event at the Museum of History in Gatineau, Que. Wednesday, Feb 4, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian WyldAdrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Outside of a strictly sporting context, Canada is culturally invisible at the Olympics. That was fine two years ago. Preferable, even. Nobody wants to take the spotlight off the athletes – that was the wisdom.
It doesn’t work any more. If the athletes want the spotlight entirely to themselves, I suggest they brush up on their international diplomacy. Whether they want to be or not, they are all travelling representatives of a country under a sort of siege.
In those circumstances, Canada doesn’t need more bronze medals. It needs to create global heat. Because when they’re coming for us, you don’t want people from Brazil and Japan going, “Who?”
You want them saying, “Not Canada, that country I know a little about and think I love based on its many charming appearances on the world stage.”
If sales is the job, only one Canadian has shown themselves both willing and able recently – Mark Carney.
As best I can tell, this guy lives on a plane, like that weird billionaire in Contact. Since he got the top job, it seems like he’s visited every major world capital except Ottawa.
But will he be in Milan? No plans to do so, according to the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday. He’s leaving that one to the B-team.
02/09/26 10:32
Ukraine’s Heraskevych displays images of athletes killed in war on his helmet
Vladyslav Heraskevych of Ukraine during training.Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych trained on Monday at the Milano Cortina Games in a helmet with images of compatriots killed during the war in Ukraine, delivering on a promise to use the Olympics to keep attention on the conflict.
“Some of them were my friends,” Heraskevych, who is his country’s flag bearer, told Reuters of the portraits after his training session at the Cortina sliding centre.
Visible on the helmet are teenage weightlifter Alina Perehudova, boxer Pavlo Ischenko, ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, actor and athlete Ivan Kononenko, diving athlete and coach Mykyta Kozubenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov and dancer Daria Kurdel, he told Reuters.
The 26-year-old said the International Olympic Committee had contacted Ukraine’s Olympic Committee over his helmet.
“It’s still being processed,” he said. Heraskevych, who held up a “No War in Ukraine” sign at the Beijing Olympics days before Russia’s 2022 invasion, had said he intended to respect Olympic rules prohibiting political demonstrations at venues while still ensuring Ukraine’s plight remained visible during the Games.
Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
Neither the IOC nor the Ukrainian committee had any immediate comment on Heraskevych’s case.
– Reuters
02/09/26 10:22
How the Ice Academy of Montreal became a global hub for Olympic figure skaters
– Robyn Doolittle
It’s a rainy fall morning outside the rink in Montreal, just a few weeks ahead of the first event in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competition series.
On one ice pad, world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States are drilling sections of their flamenco free program.
Around the corner on the second rink, reigning Olympic champion Guillaume Cizeron and his new partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry – a former Canadian champion, who now represents France with Cizeron – are running their twizzles.
Usually, Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson would also be here, but they have the day off.
All three teams are archrivals and Olympic podium contenders. They’re also training partners.
In fact, 13 of the 23 teams competing at these Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games are based out of the Ice Academy of Montreal (I.AM), the elite international ice dance school that has produced the last two Olympic champions – Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in 2018 and Cizeron and his former partner Gabriella Papadakis in 2022 – as well as nine of the last 10 world champions.
The idea of being able to openly watch your fiercest competition train every day may seem peculiar to some – especially after the outrage over the spying scandal at the Paris Olympics, when an analyst working for Canada Soccer was caught flying a drone over a rival’s practice – but this is the ethos of I.AM.
02/09/26 09:47
Megan Oldham’s post-medal family reunion
02/09/26 09:37
Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen and Tanguy Nef win combined gold in alpine skiing men’s team
Gold medallists Tanguy Nef of Switzerland and Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland celebrate on the podium during the victory ceremony.Christian Hartmann/Reuters
Swiss skiers Franjo von Allmen and Tanguy Nef stormed back to win gold in the team combined Monday as the event made its Olympic debut at the Milan Cortina Games.
In fourth place after von Allmen’s downhill run, Nef found speed on a rutted slalom course to help the Swiss-2 team finish in a combined time of 2 minutes, 44.04 seconds.
The Swiss-1 team of Marco Odermatt and Loic Meillard tied for silver with the Austrian-1 team of Vincent Kriechmayr and Manuel Feller. Both teams finished 0.99 seconds behind.
No bronze medal was awarded as a result of two teams finishing in a tie for silver.
The team combined event involves one racer competing in a downhill run and another in a slalom, with their two times added up to determine the final results.
– The Associated Press
02/09/26 09:22
Reasons why the size of the Olympic hockey rink in Milan probably doesn’t matter
– Grant Robertson
Head coach Jon Cooper of Team Canada during training at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Sunday.Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Even before the first puck is dropped in the men’s hockey tournament in Milan, the hockey world has already seen a new record set: Most time spent talking about the size of a rink.
In the past few months, the slightly off-kilter size of the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena has been the subject of endless debate anywhere hockey is discussed.
Though NHL players are returning to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years, the rink itself is not quite NHL size. It’s about three feet shorter and a few inches wider.
But the real question is: Does it even matter?
For any hockey fans worked up about the rink size at the Olympics, here are five reasons why it probably doesn’t.
02/09/26 09:09
In any other sport, this moment would have created tension between teams. Not in curling
Stefania Constantini of Italy shakes hands with Korey Dropkin of United States after winning with Amos Mosaner of Italy in curling mixed doubles round-robin game.Issei Kato/Reuters
In any other Olympic sport, a tie game with the result hanging in the balance would create tension between teams. Not in curling.
When U.S. mixed doubles curler Korey Dropkin accidentally kicked his stone off the center line Monday, in the middle of a decisive match against Italy in the Winter Games, the Italian duo laughed and waved it off, trusting the American to return it to its original position.
There were no debates involved, no refs called in, no bad-mouthing.
“For us it was really fine,” said Stefania Constantini, the curling belle from Cortina, glowing after the match, which her team won 7-6. “We just had a laugh together because they are really nice people.”
The moment highlighted one of the many reasons the niche sport of curling has such a dedicated fanbase — teams are easygoing and friendly to each other on the ice, even in the most heated moments. Monday’s game decided who would play whom in the semifinals, and the U.S. had been hoping for a win to avoid having to play Italy again.
Though that wish did not come true, it was clear there were no hard feelings. Dropkin said after the match that he and his mixed doubles partner and Minnesota native, Cory Thiesse, would focus on “being a little sharper here and there and just trying to be a little more precise” when playing Italy again tonight.
“We’re a tough team to beat twice,” he said. “They’re gonna have to bring their A game.”
The semifinals will be played Monday evening at 12:05 p.m. ET. Along with the repeat between the U.S. and Italy, Sweden’s curling siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wrana will play Britain’s best friends, Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds, the top-ranked team in the field.
– The Associated Press
02/09/26 08:56
Italy’s early medals lift TV audiences and ticket sales
A medal-rich start by hosts Italy at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics is translating into booming television audiences and strong in-person demand for what is shaping into a commercially successful Games, organizers said on Monday.
Italy has won nine medals including one gold, driving a surge of interest at home and putting them third in the table behind winter powerhouses Norway and the United States. Among highlights for Italian fans was a gold medal for speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida, who celebrated with tears and wrapped in the tricolour national flag alongside her two-year-old son.
Gold medallist Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy celebrates with the Italian flag after the women's 3,000 meters speedskating race on Saturday.Christophe Ena/The Associated Press
“These have been fantastic days for us. Enthusiasm is growing not only inside the venues. We are getting positive feedback from partners,” Luca Casassa, Milano Games spokesperson, told a press conference on Monday.
Ticket sales also rose early in the Games.
In the first two days, another 127,000 tickets were sold, taking the total to 1.2 million so far, said Andrea Francisi, the Olympics’ chief games operations officer.
In the first few days of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, approximately 925,000 tickets were sold out of a final total of just over one million.
In Pyeongchang 2018, South Korea, only less than 60 per cent of available tickets had been sold in the first few days. There can be no comparison with Beijing 2022 because tickets were not put on general sale due to the COVID emergency.
– Reuters
02/09/26 08:02
Megan Oldham wins slopestyle bronze for Canada’s second medal at Olympics
– Eric Reguly
From left, silver medalist China's Eileen Gu, gold medalist Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud and bronze medalist Canada's Megan Oldham stand on the podium after the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals.Fabrizio Troccoli/The Globe and Mail
Canadian freestyle skier Megan Oldham took bronze in the freeski slopestyle competition, handing Canada a well-needed second medal on the third day of the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Oldham fought well in a nail-biter of a competition in Livigno, narrowly beating British freestyle star Kristy Muir for the bronze. Chinese-American megastar Eileen Gu, took silver, a disappointment for her, and Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud, the defending champion took gold in a dazzling, gravity defying performance.
The Canadian contingent among spectators, including Oldham’s parents, erupted in applause after her bronze was confirmed. They waved Canadian flags and “MG” posters. They were all the more happy since Oldham’s second of three runs in the final ended in near disaster.
Oldham, who is 24 and grew up in Parry Sound, Ont., got off to a fine start in the first of three runs in the final on a sunny day in Livigno. For most of the second run, she performed exceedingly well. But she flubbed her last jump by rushing the takeoff and landed hard as the audience gasped.
Naomi Urness of Mont-Tremblant, Que., finished seventh in her Olympic debut.
Megan Oldham of Canada in action during her third run of the women's freeski slopestyle finals.Dylan Martinez/Reuters
02/09/26 06:54
Mystery of breaking Olympic medals baffles Milan Cortina organizers
United States' Breezy Johnson shows her gold medal in the alpine ski women's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)Andy Wong/The Associated Press
Whether gold, silver or bronze, there is one thing Milan Cortina Winter Olympics medals have in common: they can break.
Games organizers on Monday said they have launched an investigation into a spate of mishaps that have left Olympic medallists, including American downhill skiing champion Breezy Johnson, sporting a cracked and chipped medal.
“We are fully aware of the situation and you have seen the pictures,” Milan Cortina Chief Games Operations Officer Andrea Francisi told a press conference on Monday. “We are looking into what exactly the problem is.”
“We will pay maximum attention to the medals ... so that everything will be perfect because this is one of the most important things for the athletes.”
Johnson is one of several decorated athletes in Italy who have seen their medals snap, crack and pop only minutes after the award ceremonies in the first few days of the Games.
“It is heavy, it’s broken. It’s a look,” Johnson told reporters shortly after the podium ceremony, showing off her cracked and chipped medal in one hand as the separated ribbon hung around her neck. “I was jumping up and down in excitement, then it just fell off.”
U.S. gold medalist Breezy Johnson speaks to the media in a press conference after the women's downhill on Day 2 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.Julian Finney/Getty Images
She is not the only one, with Germany biathlete Justus Strelow seeing his bronze medal lying cracked on the floor during celebrations at their team headquarters.
Sweden’s cross-country skier Ebba Andersson’s silver prize from the women’s skiathlon suffered a similar fate.
– Reuters
02/09/26 06:30
Eileen Gu and Mathilde Gremaud face off again in Olympics freeski slopestyle final
Eileen Gu of China in action during training ahead of the race.Marko Djurica/Reuters
Eileen Gu and Mathilde Gremaud are ready to face off again in the women’s freeski slopestyle final at the Winter Olympics on Monday.
Gu emerged as a global star at the Beijing Olympics when at age 18 she made Olympic history by becoming the first winter action sport athlete to win three medals in a single Games. She took gold in halfpipe and big air, while grabbing a silver in slopestyle.
The only woman stopping her from a golden treble was Switzerland’s Gremaud, who edged Gu to first place in the slopestyle final by a mere 0.33 points.
Gremaud showed she had come to defend her title when she led qualifying just ahead of Gu on Saturday. Gu had to overcome a fall on her very first jump that had put her spot in the final in jeopardy. With the pressure on, Gu nailed her next jump to go through in style.
Gu, 22, was born in San Francisco but competes for China, her mother’s homeland.
Canadians Megan Oldham of Parry Sound, Ont., and Naomi Urness of Mont-Tremblant, Que., will also take to the course at Livigno Snow Park in the women’s slopestyle final.
In slopestyle, skiers perform acrobatic tricks while skiing over rails and jumps that are judged for difficulty and execution. In the final, the best score of the three jumps counts.
– The Associated Press
02/09/26 06:04
U.S. ski great Vonn had two operations after leg fracture
General view outside a hospital in Treviso where U.S. skiier Lindsey Vonn is being treated after she crashed during women's downhill yesterday.Leonardo Benassatto/Reuters
U.S. skiing great Lindsey Vonn has had two operations in Italy after a serious leg fracture at the Olympics, with a source saying the procedures should help stabilize her and prevent complications linked to swelling and blood flow.
Vonn, 41, was flown by helicopter to the Ca’ Foncello Hospital in the city of Treviso from Cortina d’Ampezzo after her audacious bid to win downhill gold with a ruptured knee ligament ended in a horrific crash 13 seconds into Sunday’s race.
One of the most decorated ski racers in history, she was operated on by a joint team of local orthopaedic and plastic surgeons, the source close to the matter said on Monday.
Her personal doctor was present but only assisted while Italian surgeons led the procedures, the source said.
– Reuters
Skier Lindsey Vonn’s Olympic crash, which came while she was still recovering from an earlier accident, has ignited a debate over who decides when an injured competitor is fit to compete.
Reuters
02/09/26 05:57
Brett Peterman and Jocelyn Gallant’s mixed doubles curling Olympic hope ends in disappointment
– Rachel Brady
Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant look on during their match against Yannick Schwaller and Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann of Switzerland.Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters
Canadian curlers Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman will need some time to process the pain of missing the Olympic playoffs in mixed doubles.
Canada’s husband-and-wife team finished their Winter Games with an 8-4 win over Switzerland on Monday, but had already been eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday by losing to Korea. They finished with a 4-5 record, not good enough to make the Olympic semifinals. That’s tough for a Canadian curler to swallow.
“There’s a lot of disappointment and a lot of hurt,” said Peterman. “I hope when it’s not as fresh that we can be proud of how we fought out there.”
As Peterman began to cry while talking to reporters, her husband tried to help finish her thought. They looked into each other’s eyes often while trying to describe how crushed they feel after starting the bonspiel 3-0 and then dropping five straight, missing a shot to play for a medal.
Mixed doubles brought the two athletes, both from Chestermere, Alta., together a decade ago when they formed a team. Now, they are married and have a two-year-old son, Luke. They were one of more than a dozen real-life partners competing together at the Milano Cortina Olympics.
“You both know what each other are feeling. There’s no guessing at how much it hurts,” said Gallant, looking at his wife. “It’s a sad hug at the end of the day, because you’re both going through that disappointment. But we’ll always have each other.”
02/09/26 05:48
U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn faces backlash over politics and copyright issues after Olympic gold
Team USA's Amber Glenn celebrates with her gold medal after the figure skating team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday.Ashley Landis/The Associated Press
On the same day Amber Glenn won Olympic gold as part of the team event, and stepped away from social media due to backlash over her comments on politics and the LGBTQ+ community, the American figure skater ended up with another headache.
Canadian artist Seb McKinnon, who produces music under the name CLANN, took to social media late Sunday to object to the use of his song “The Return,” which Glenn had used in her free skate — and has been using for the past two years without issue.
“So just found out an Olympic figure skater used one of my songs without permission for their routine. It aired all over the world ... what? Is that usual practice for the Olympics?” McKinnon posted to X, shortly after the team competition had ended.
Figure skaters are required to obtain permission for the music they use, but that process is hardly straightforward.
Sometimes the label or record producer owns the copyright, other times the artist themselves, and often there are multiple parties involved. Skaters sometimes will piece together different cuts of music, too. Throw in third-party companies such as ClicknClear that try to smooth out the permission process, and the entire copyright issue becomes murky and nuanced.
– The Associated Press
02/09/26 05:35
Bobsleigh, luge and skeleton athletes make plans for fast tracks
– Rachel Brady
Embyr-Lee Susko of Canada during luge training.Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
Canada’s bobsleigh, luge and skeleton athletes have been studying the icy Olympic track at the Milan Cortina Winter Games track meticulously well ahead of their races.
Athletes and coaches in the three Olympic sliding sports have studied maps of the Cortina Olympic sliding track, walked the snaking, long icy surface on foot, watched video footage, and analyzed its every curve and transition before racing on it. Then they commit their race lines to memory.
The track in the Italian Dolomites is relatively new to all of these athletes, so there is little footage to study, and no one has years of experience on it. That could help level the competition.
Called Cortina Sliding Centre during the Games, it is also known as the Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre, named after Italy’s six-time Olympic bobsleigh medalist. The venue is built on the same grounds of the historic track that was built in the 1920s and used for the Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 Olympic Winter Games before it shut down in 2008. It underwent a total reconstruction for these Olympics, and reopened last year.
02/09/26 05:00
Today’s Olympic schedule and event start times
- Globe staff
It’s another busy day in Italy with Canadian women’s hockey playing Czechia in their second round-robin game (after defeating Switzerland 4-0 on Saturday) and the mixed-doubles curling preliminary matches continuing.
Meanwhile, slopestyle skiers Megan Oldham and Naomi Urness look to bring Canada its second medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics on Day 3.
Figure skating also continues today, with Canada having three tandems in competition when the ice dance event opens with the rhythm event.
Here are the events to watch for, and you can find the full schedule here.
- 4:05 a.m. ET - Mixed doubles curling (Canada vs. Switzerland)
- 1:20 p.m. ET - Figure skating, mixed ice and rhythm dance
- 3:10 p.m. ET - Women’s hockey (Canada vs. Czechia)
Medal events:
- 6:30 a.m. ET - Women’s slopestyle freestyle skiing
- 8 a.m. ET - Men’s alpine skiing team combined slalom
- 11:30 a.m. ET - Women’s 1000m speed skating
- 1:30 p.m. ET - Women’s snowboard big air
- 2:12 p.m. ET - Men’s normal hill ski jump
02/09/26 05:00
How to watch the Olympics in Canada
- Globe staff
CBC is Canada’s official Olympic broadcaster. The 2026 Winter Games will be available to watch on CBC through your TV provider, or to stream for free on the CBC Gem app or at CBCGem.ca.
You can also follow The Globe and Mail’s live coverage of all the latest news and analysis of the Games, on our website or mobile app.
02/09/26 05:00
Your guide to the 2026 Winter Olympics
- Globe staff
The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics have begun and are poised to be historic in more ways than one, as Team Canada and the world’s best athletes converge in northern Italy.
From hockey to figure skating and the debut of ski mountaineering, the competition will be nothing short of thrilling. But at the most geographically widespread edition of the Winter Games ever, international tensions – particularly toward the United States – will also be on full display.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Games.
02/09/26 05:00
Ask us your Olympics questions
- Globe staff
From how Canada is doing so far to what the energy is like in Italy, tell the The Globe’s Olympics team what you want to know about the Games. We’ll do our best to answer them.
Ask us your Olympics questions
What do you want to know about the 2026 Winter Games and Team Canada so far? Send us your questions, and The Globe's journalists on the ground in Italy will try to answer them.