02/21/26 17:50
Canada names Maltais and Dubois as flagbearers for closing ceremonies
Valérie Maltais and Steven Dubois.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Speed skater Valérie Maltais and short track speed skater Steven Dubois have been named Canada’s flag-bearers for the closing ceremonies of the 2026 Olympic Games.
Dubois won a gold medal in the men’s 500 metres and was also part of the mixed relay team that earned silver.
Maltais helped Canada repeat as Olympic champions in women’s team pursuit with Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann. Maltais also earned bronze medals in the 3,000 and 1,500 metres.
The 35-year-old Maltais competed in her fifth and final Olympic Games. She owns a career five medals, including a short track relay medal from 2014 before switching to long track.
The 28-year-old Dubois has also collected five Olympic medals in his career, including gold, silver and bronze in 2022 when he helped the men’s relay team to victory.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 16:58
Finland beats Slovakia to win men’s ice hockey bronze
Sebastian Aho and Juuse Saros of Finland celebrate after winning bronze.David W Cerny/Reuters
Finland defeated Slovakia 6-1 to win the bronze medal in the Olympic men’s ice hockey at Santagiulia arena on Saturday.
It is Finland’s fifth bronze and eighth Olympic ice hockey medal overall, with the country having won gold four years ago in Beijing.
- Reuters
02/21/26 16:50
Canadians finish out of the top 10 in two-woman bobsleigh
Canadian competitors have finished off the podium in two-woman bobsledding at the Games.
Bianca Ribi and Skylar Sieben were the highest Canadian finishers, ending up in 11th place at 2.98 seconds behind the winners, Deborah Levi and Laura Nolte of Germany.
Melissa Lotholz and Kelsey Mitchell finished 13th while Cynthia Appiah and Dawn Richardson Wilson finished 14th.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 15:51
Team Jacobs claims gold medal in men’s curling after nail-biting final
- Rachel Brady
Canada's Brett Gallant, left, and teammates celebrate becoming Olympic Champions after defeating team GB in the curling men's gold medal game.MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images
The Canadian men’s curling team has struck gold.
Team Brad Jacobs pulled off an epic 9-6 victory over Bruce Mouat’s world championship rink from Great Britain in Saturday’s Olympic gold medal final.
A Jacobs triple in the ninth end flipped the final game on its ear, paving the way for Canada’s first Olympic gold medal in men’s or women’s curling in 12 years.
It’s the second time atop the podium for Jacobs, who skipped Canada to gold at the Sochi Winter Games.
This time he did it with lead Ben Hebert, second Brett Gallant and third Marc Kennedy.
02/21/26 15:08
Late Canadian halfpipe pioneer Sarah Burke celebrated with Olympic pin
United States' Nick Goepper wears a 'Sarah' pin during the men's freestyle skiing halfpipe finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno.Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press
Maybe the most precious pin at the Milan Cortina Games celebrates an athlete who helped lead an entire sport into the Olympics, but never got to compete herself.
Canada’s late, great freeskier Sarah Burke was a pioneer in the women’s halfpipe. She encouraged girls and young women to jump into what was, decades ago, almost exclusively a men’s sport. Later, her lobbying was key to getting the event onto the Olympic program.
But she died at age 29 in a training accident in 2012, two years before the skiers debuted in the halfpipe at the Sochi Olympics.
To honour Burke’s memory, Canada coach Trennon Paynter had 200 pins made that spell out “Sarah” in red script – matching the look of the stickers skiers put on their helmets in Russia.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 14:52
Closing ceremonies begin at 2:30 p.m. ET tomorrow
Lisi Niesner/Reuters
The Olympics closing ceremony, where athletes from more than 90 countries will say arrivederci to the Games, kicks off at 2:30 p.m. ET at the Verona Olympic Arena.
Held in an ancient Roman amphitheatre, the event marks the first time the ceremony will take place at a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The theme for the event is “Beauty in Action,” conceived as an ode to “the unity of sport, art and beauty,” according to the International Olympic Committee.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 14:26
Team Jacobs goes for gold against Great Britain in men’s curling
Brad Jacobs of Team Canada delivers a stone alongside teammates Ben Hebert and Brett Gallant.Julian Finney/Getty Images
Canada is guaranteed at least one more medal Saturday as Brad Jacobs, Canada’s 2014 Olympic champion, plays in the men’s gold medal game.
Team Jacobs holds a narrow 4-3 lead over Great Britain’s Bruce Mouat after five ends in the gold-medal game at the Olympic men’s curling tournament.
The Canadian lead comes after a single point scored in the fifth end after the teams traded leads in the first three ends, followed by a British single in the fourth to tie the match entering the fifth.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 12:44
Canadians to rise early to cheer for hockey gold against U.S.
Nathan MacKinnon, left, celebrates his goal against Finland with Sam Reinhart (13) and Macklin Celebrini (17).Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
From a bowl of cereal and bath robe in the basement to a cold pint at a local pub, Canadians will have a number of options to watch their hockey team play for gold Sunday morning.
In at least Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta, provincial governments have allowed pubs to open and start serving alcohol in the morning, as early as 6 a.m. in Ontario and Alberta, and 5 a.m. in Manitoba, all local times.
In some other locations across the country, pubs can apply for licence exemptions to open early.
In B.C. some pubs that have been granted exemptions will be opening as early as 4:30 a.m. local time.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 12:24
Women’s freeski halfpipe final postponed to Sunday because of poor weather
A worker clears snow from the course of the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final.Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press
The women’s freeski halfpipe final, the final event of the Milan Cortina Olympics in Livigno, has been postponed until Sunday.
There was no immediate word on the new timing other than Sunday morning Livigno time.
Wet snow fell much of the afternoon Saturday, drawing the ire of Canadian ski cross star Reece Howden. The World Cup leader, who failed to make it out of the quarterfinals, berated organizers for running the event in such poor conditions.
China’s Eileen Gu is looking to add to the silver medals she won in slopestyle and big air earlier at these games. Gu became the first freestyle skier to win three medals during a single Winter Games when she made her Olympic debut four years ago in Beijing.
A podium finish will see the 22-year-old break a tie with Canadian moguls star Mikael Kingsbury (two golds and three silvers) as the freestyle skier with the most medals in Olympic history.
Canadians Rachael Karker and Amy Fraser also made the final. So did Cassie Sharpe, but the 2018 Olympic champion from Comox, B.C., was forced to withdraw after a nasty crash in qualifying Thursday.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 11:31
Blondin wins silver in women’s mass start, Maltais misses podium
- Robyn Doolittle
Canada's Valerie Maltais, right, and teammate Ivanie Blondin wave the maple leaf after running the women's mass start speed skating finals.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Long track speed skater Ivanie Blondin has won a silver medal in the women’s mass start for the second Olympic Games in a row.
It’s also the second time this Olympics that Blondin has repeated one of her Beijing 2022 medals. Earlier in the Games, she and teammates Valérie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann defended their gold medal win in the women’s team pursuit.
Saturday’s silver brought Canada’s total medal tally to 19 and Blondin’s personal career Olympic medal haul to four.
“Whatever happened today, if I was on the podium, I was going to be extremely happy. I couldn’t have asked for a better end,” she said.
02/21/26 11:05
Canada defeats the U.S. to win bronze in women’s curling
- Rachel Brady
Rachel Homan, right, and Tracy Fleury celebrate winning their women's curling bronze medal.Misper Apawu/The Associated Press
Rachel Homan has earned a long-awaited Olympic medal.
Homan’s Canadian women’s curling rink beat Tabitha Peterson’s American team 10-7 on Saturday in a back-and-forth bronze medal game at the Winter Games.
On the strength of triples in the sixth and eighth ends, the team of Homan, Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes delivered Canada’s first curling medal of the 2026 Winter Games.
All four women, who are often stoic on ice like their skip, folded into long jubilant hugs when it was official, then raced over to scoop their small children into the celebration.
It’s a big moment for Homan, who is largely considered the world’s best female curler. Yet until now, she was missing an Olympic medal after falling short at the Games in 2018 and 2022. It was a second attempt for Miskew, who also played in 2018.
02/21/26 10:25
Three Canadians advance in mass start as Maltais eyes fourth medal of Games
- Robyn Doolittle
Valérie Maltais of Canada in action during the women's mass start semi-finals.Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
Valérie Maltais has advanced to the gold medal final in long track women’s mass start as she continues her hunt for her fourth Olympic medal in Milan.
Her teammates Ivanie Blondin and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu – who raced in the men’s mass start event and won his race – have also advanced out of the semi-finals.
Daniel Hall did not qualify for the final.
In mass start, between 13 and 15 skaters are competing in each race and the top eight move onto the finals later this afternoon.
These are the last long-track events of the Games.
02/21/26 10:18
Cassie Sharpe out on concussion
Canada’s Cassie Sharpe says she suffered a bad concussion and facial bruising in the qualifiers of the women’s ski halfpipe.
The 2018 Olympic champion said in an Instagram video that she is out of hospital and doing OK.
Canadian team officials confirmed earlier today that Sharpe hasn’t been medically cleared to participate in today’s final.
Sharpe, a two-time Olympic medallist, says it’s not safe for her to compete but she’ll be cheering on the other Canadian women in the final.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 09:57
What legendary basketball coach Bobby Knight taught Jon Cooper about hockey
- Grant Robertson
Canada's head coach Jon Cooper talks with his players after their win against Finland on Friday.Carolyn Kaster/The Associated Press
Around 2009, when Jon Cooper was still a junior hockey coach trying to climb the ranks, basketball coach Bobby Knight came to town to give a speech.
Cooper, now the bench boss for Team Canada at the Milan Cortina Olympics, knew he had to be there.
Knight was “The General,” the legendary strategist for the Indiana Hoosiers who won three Div. I NCAA championships in the 1970s and ’80s and a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics before his retirement in 2008.
Cooper, who will helm Team Canada in Sunday’s gold medal game, was coaching the Green Bay Gamblers back then, a junior hockey outfit based in Wisconsin.
The speech was great, Cooper recalls. What happened after was better.
02/21/26 09:06
Captain Crosby a game-time decision for gold-medal game
Canada's captain Sidney Crosby takes part in practice on Saturday morning.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Sidney Crosby took part in Canada’s practice Saturday and remains an option for the country’s gold-medal matchup with the United States at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Head coach Jon Cooper said following an on-ice session closed to media that his captain will be a game-time decision Sunday.
Crosby missed Friday’s 3-2 victory over Finland with a lower-body injury suffered in the quarter-finals against Czechia.
Cooper added defenceman Josh Morrissey won’t play in the tournament finale. He’s dealing with an upper-body injury and hasn’t dressed since the opener of the preliminary round.
The U.S. thumped Slovakia 6-2 to advance to the gold-medal game.
Canada, which beat the Americans in the final of last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, is riding a 15-game winning streak at the Olympics with its NHL players dating back to 2010.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 08:42
Calgary’s Marineau refused to dial it back in Olympic debut
Dylan Marineau in action during the men's freeski halfpipe final on Friday.Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Canadian freestyle skier Dylan Marineau was beaming after finishing 11th in the halfpipe final in his first Olympics.
The 27-year-old from Calgary didn’t land a clean run at the Milan Cortina Games, but not for lack of trying Friday evening at Livigno Snow Park.
“I didn’t want to dial it back and be disappointed with a lower-difficulty run so I really went for it,” he said.
Marineau took pride at being the first to land a double flip with a 1260 rotation and safety grab in competition, pulling it off on his first run but failing to repeat it on his next two runs.
“I did it a couple of months ago in the spring and that was when it was a world first. But today was a contest first. No one had done it in contest until today.”
He said it took him four years to successfully perform off the trick.
“I guess you could say I still don’t have it figured out, but in the next four years when I come back, it will be figured out. It will be a staple of my run.”
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 08:21
Ski-cross favourite Reece Howden blames heavy snow for slow performance
- Eric Reguly
Canada's Reece Howden rips off his bib after being eliminated during the men's ski cross quarter-finals.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
If there was one Canadian athlete who was destined to win a medal – probably gold – in the men’s Olympic freestyle events in Livigno, it was Reece Howden. He had the track record, he had the momentum and he had the confidence going into Saturday’s ski cross event.
Howden, 27, was the top-ranked athlete in the sport, which is a four-athlete drag race down a twisty course with loads of sharp little hills and jumps. In Saturday morning’s seeding event, he ranked first among 31 contestants. Not just first, but first by a wide margin of 0.99 seconds – an eon by the standards of the fairly short ski-cross race.
At about noon, in the 1/8 finals, just as it was beginning to snow, his winning form was intact; he placed first in his heat. One other Canadian, Kevin Dury, also qualified to advance to the quarter-finals.
The snow intensified as the quarter-finals started. Reece was in the first heat against three Italian racers, each of them accomplished, though, on paper anyway, not likely capable of beating the man from Chilliwack, B.C.
Howden, 27, got off to a good start, then fell back – and kept falling back. He made no apparent technical error – he was just slow – and finished dead last in his heat, meaning he could not enter the semi-finals, would not finish on the podium or anywhere close to it.
02/21/26 08:05
Team Homan curls for bronze against U.S.
Rachel Homan delivers the stone while Sarah Wilkes, left, and Emma Miskew sweep the ice.MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images
Canada’s Rachel Homan is taking on the United States in the women’s curling bronze medal game.
Tabitha Peterson’s American team is starting with the hammer, as it had the better record in the preliminary round.
Canada’s Brad Jacobs takes on Britain for men’s curling gold later today.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 07:30
Norway’s Klaebo sets record for most golds in a Winter Games
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo celebrates winning gold in the men's 50km mass start classic.Lars Baron/Getty Images
Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo completed his historic gold medal sweep of the men’s cross-country skiing events on Saturday by winning his sixth race and set the record for the most golds by one athlete in a single Winter Olympics.
Klaebo’s victory in the 50-kilometre mass start race shattered the nearly 50-year record set by American speed skater Eric Heiden, who won five golds in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.
All of Heiden’s wins were in individual races and two of Klaebo’s have come in team events, so Heiden’s record for individual wins still stands.
Klaebo also extended his record for most career Winter Olympic gold medals to 11 over three Games. The previous record had been eight, which Klaebo broke Feb. 15.
- The Associated Press
02/21/26 07:14
Canadian men’s ski cross hopes end in quarter-final
From left, Canada's Reece Howden, Italy's Federico Tomasoni, Italy's Dominik Zuech and Italy's Simone Deromedis compete in the men's ski cross quarter-final.KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images
Canada has been eliminated from the men’s ski cross competition.
Reece Howden of Chilliwack, B.C., and Toronto’s Kevin Drury were knocked out in the quarter-final after teammate Jared Smith received a yellow card and failed to advance in a qualifying round.
The 27-year-old Howden was a major contender, having topped the World Cup standings in 2021, 2023 and 2025. He is also leading the circuit this season.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 07:14
Maltais seeks fourth speed-skating podium
Valérie Maltais competes in the women's 1,500m speed skating race on Friday.Luca Bruno/The Associated Press
Fresh off her bronze medal in the women’s 1,500 metres speed-skating event, Valérie Maltais chases another podium in the women’s mass start final.
She will be joined by fellow Canadian Ivanie Blondin, the defending silver medalist from Beijing 2022. Maltais has won three long-track medals at Milan Cortina, adding bronze in the 3,000 metres and gold alongside Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann in the team pursuit.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 07:08
Cassie Sharpe sitting out women’s ski halfpipe finals
Cassie Sharpe crashes during the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe qualifications.Gregory Bull/The Associated Press
Canadian officials have confirmed that two-time Olympic medallist Cassie Sharpe won’t be competing in today’s women’s ski halfpipe finals.
The Comox, B.C. athlete, who won gold in Pyeongchang and silver in Beijing, was injured in a nasty fall in Thursday’s women’s qualifying.
The Canadian Olympic Committee says Sharpe has been released after a “precautionary” hospital stay but has not been cleared to compete by medical staff.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 06:37
Opinion: How the West should handle the return of Russian flags to the Games
- Cathal Kelly
A Russian flag is held above the Olympic Rings at Adler Arena Skating Center during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.David J. Phillip/The Associated Press
In about ten days, Russia and Belarus will soft open their return to the Olympics, via the Paralympics. They’ll have their own athletes in Milan, competing under their own flags, who’ll hear their own anthems if they win.
So by the time Los Angeles 2028 rolls around, this won’t be a debate. They’ve already been here, they’ve already done that. Why argue?
But argue is what we in the West do best. That’s not to say we’re good at it. We’re unbelievably bad. But we do feel the need.
Italy, for instance. As they very reasonably feel that they might soon be in the same jam as Ukraine, they would rather not later have it said that the Russian flag was flown on their soil in the calm just before that calamity.
They’ve written a strongly worded letter to the International Paralympic Committee, voicing their “absolute opposition” to the Russian flag. The complaint states that 33 other countries feel as they do.
I’m sure they’ll all hear back by March 16, the day after the Paralympics ends.
02/21/26 06:20
Canada misses podium in mixed team aerials
Canada's Miha Fontaine jumps during the mixed team aerials final.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Canada has fallen just short of qualifying for the final in mixed-team aerial freestyle skiing.
The Canadians appeared in good shape to reach the final four but slipped to fifth after the final jump in the qualifiers.
The United States, China, Australia and Switzerland went on to the final.
- The Canadian press
02/21/26 05:11
Team Jacobs will battle Great Britain for gold in men’s curling
- Rachel Brady
Skip Brad Jacobs during Canada's match against Norway on Thursday.Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters
Canadian skip Brad Jacobs said Saturday’s Olympic men’s curling gold medal final with Bruce Mouat’s Great Britain rink will be a battle of “two heavyweight teams.”
Both skips have been in the gold medal game before, but only one of them has stepped on top of the Olympic podium.
Here’s what to know about today’s final.
02/21/26 05:11
Finland to play Slovakia for bronze in men’s hockey after loss to Canada
Players of Team Finland wait for a video review in the third period against Canada on Friday.Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
The Olympic men’s hockey tournament will play its second-last game in Italy on Saturday with the bronze-medal matchup between Finland and Slovakia. Finland, the defending champions, will play for bronze in Milan after surrendering a 2-0 lead early and falling 3-2 to Canada in Friday’s semi-final.
Slovakia, meanwhile, is in the bronze-medal game for a second straight Games after winning the third-place game at Beijing 2022. Milan-Cortina is the first Olympic tournament featuring NHL players since Sochi 2014. Finland won bronze in both 2014 and 2010 when the NHL participated.
- The Canadian Press
02/21/26 05:03
Howden well positioned for a medal in men’s ski cross
- Eric Reguly
Reece Howden competes in men's ski cross seeding on Saturday.David Ramos/Getty Images
Canada’s Reece Howden, the top-ranked athlete in ski cross, ranked first in the pre-final seeding event, putting him on course for a podium finish later today.
His lead in the seeding over second-placed Satoshi Furuno of Japan was a strong 0.99 of a second – a meaningful edge on the fairly short course in Livigno.
Howden, 27, of Chilliwack, B.C., came into the Milan Cortina Games with tonnes of momentum. He has collected four gold medals, one silver and one bronze in his last seven World Cup appearances.
In the women’s ski cross, the Canadian contenders left the event medal-free.
The men’s ski cross final starts at 1:10 pm, local time.
02/21/26 05:00
Today’s Olympic schedule and event start times
- Globe Staff
The competition is still heating up as the Winter Games wind down. Team Brad Jacobs is curling for gold against Great Britain, Rachel Homan’s women’s side plays the United States for bronze, and Canadian athletes are aiming for more medals on the slopes, in the sled and on the speed-skating track.
Here are the events to watch for, and you can find the full schedule here.
- 4 a.m. ET - Four-man bobsled first run (Two Canadian teams competing)
- 4 a.m. ET - Men’s ski cross seeding (Kevin Drury and Reece Howden among Canadians)
- 5:57 a.m. ET - Four-man bobsled second run
- 6:35 a.m. ET - Men’s ski cross quarter-finals
- 9 a.m. ET - Speed skating men’s mass start semi-final (Canada’s Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu and Daniel Hall)
- 9:50 a.m. ET - Speed skating women’s mass start semi-final (Canada’s Valérie Maltais and Ivanie Blondin)
- 10:40 a.m. ET - Two-woman bobsled third run (Melissa Lotholz and Kelsey Mitchell among Canadians)
Medal events:
- 4:45 a.m. ET - Freestyle skiing mixed aerials team (Canada competing)
- 5 a.m. ET - Cross-country skiing men’s 50km classic style (Canada’s Antoine Cyr and Thomas Stephen)
- 7:10 a.m. ET - Men’s ski cross final
- 7:30 a.m. ET - Ski mountaineering mixed relay
- 8:05 a.m. ET - Canada vs. United States women’s curling bronze-medal game
- 8:15 a.m. ET - Biathlon women’s 12.5km mass start
- 10:40 a.m. ET - Speed skating men’s mass start
- 11:15 a.m. ET - Speed skating women’s mass start
- 1:05 p.m. ET - Canada vs. Great Britain men’s curling gold medal game
- 1:30 p.m. ET - Freestyle skiing women’s halfpipe (Canada’s Cassie Sharpe, Rachael Karker and Amy Fraser)
- 2:40 p.m. ET - Men’s hockey bronze medal-game (Finland vs. Slovakia)
- 3:05 p.m. ET - Two-woman bobsled final run
02/21/26 05:00
Where to watch the Olympics in Canada
- Globe staff
CBC is Canada’s official Olympic broadcaster. The 2026 Winter Games are 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.
02/21/26 05:00
Your guide to the 2026 Winter Olympics
- Globe staff
A spectator wears Olympic ring glasses at Milano Ice Skating Arena.Elsa/Getty Images
The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are nearing their end and have made history in more ways than one, as Team Canada and the world’s best athletes continue to compete in northern Italy.
From hockey to figure skating and the debut of ski mountaineering, the competition has been nothing short of thrilling. But at the most geographically widespread edition of the Winter Games ever, international tensions – particularly toward the United States – is also be on full display.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Games.