02/17/26 17:10
Schizas out of women’s figure skating competition by a hair
- Globe Staff
Madeline Schizas reacts to her score in the women's figure-skating short program.Yara Nardi/Reuters
Madeline Schizas, Canada’s sole figure skater in the women’s singles event, is out of the competition after the short program.
The 23-year-old from Oakville, Ont., finished in 25th place with a score of 55.38 – 0.25 points back from the 24th position – after making several mistakes in her routine. Only the top 24 skaters advanced to the free program portion of the competition.
Japan’s Ami Nakai holds the top spot after the short dance, with 78.71 points, followed by teammate Kaori Sakamoto in second place and American Alysa Liu in third.
The free program begins Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.
02/17/26 16:47
Jacobs says ‘bring it on’ after beating Mouat to clinch semifinal spot
- Rachel Brady
Canada's Marc Kennedy and Brad Jacobs say they're confident in the team after beating Great Britain.Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters
Team Brad Jacobs is feeling confident after beating Great Britain to ensure a semifinal berth.
“Bring it on. There’s nothing this team can’t handle,” said Jacobs, on Canada’s ability to deal with the distraction of the ‘double-touch’ controversy.
“We can handle anything,” added the skip. “The harder things are, the sweeter the victory.”
Britain’s skip Bruce Mouat came to Cortina as the favourite for gold in the men’s event. He earned silver at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and his rink has been the world champions in three of the past five years.
“Those guys have had our number for a decade, my entire career, so to get that monkey off our back in the biggest event that we have all ever played in is a big deal for us,” said Jacobs.
For the first time after today’s win, Marc Kennedy was not asked in his post-game interviews about his expletive-filled on-ice exchange with Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson on Friday after an accusation of double-touching the rock. He looked relieved that the controversy might finally be winding down.
“Oh my gosh, I was just waiting for the nuclear question,” said Kennedy with a laugh.
Canada’s men also play Italy on Wednesday at 8 a.m. ET and Norway on Thursday at 3 a.m. ET.
02/17/26 16:34
Olympian learns lesson after revealing cheating in interview
Norway's Sturla Holm Laegreid says a pair of interview blunders have taught him a lot at the Olympics.Mosa'ab Elshamy/The Associated Press
Norway’s Sturla Holm Laegreid said he has learned to hold his tongue in front of the media’s microphones at the Milano Cortina Games after a pair of gaffes that got him more headlines than his biathlon medals.
The 28-year-old, who won silver in today’s men’s relay, went viral for revealing in a post-race interview that he had cheated on his girlfriend, and he caused a war of words with Emilien Jacquelin of France with a joke in another interview that missed its target.
“After my atomic bomb in the mixed zone [about his cheating], I feel like I need to really watch what I’m saying, because now, now that every statement from me can become clickbait,” Laegreid told Reuters with a broad grin.
After beating the Frenchman to bronze in the men’s individual race by two-tenths of a second, Laegreid was on the receiving end of plenty of negative comments on social media after wondering if Jacquelin had stopped to greet fans.
“I mean, it’s just joking with each other - I know a lot of French fangirls of Emilien are mad, but as long as there are still good vibes between me and him, that’s what matters,” he said, adding that the Norwegians and the French still play video games together online.
- Reuters
02/17/26 16:19
Canadians finish 18th, Germany sweeps two-man bobsled podium
Taylor Austin and Shaquille Murray-Lawrence celebrate after their final run.Annegret Hilse/Reuters
Canada’s two-man bobsleigh team has placed 18th in Cortina.
The team of Taylor Austin and Shaquille Murray-Lawrence finished 4.9 seconds behind the leader.
The event saw Germany sweep the podium, with the frontrunner team of Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer coming in at a time of three minutes and 39.7 seconds.
- The Canadian Press
02/17/26 16:09
Schizas on edge of not advancing after women’s short program
Canada's Madeline Schizas performs during the short program.Yara Nardi/Reuters
Canadian figure skater Madeline Schizas has scored 55.38 in her short program.
It puts her at 19th place with six skaters left to perform.
The top 24 advance to the free skate portion of the event on Thursday.
- The Canadian Press
02/17/26 16:02
Frostad’s surprise big-air gold extends Norway’s medal lead
- Eric Reguly
Norway's Tormod Frostad celebrates his gold in men's freestyle skiing big air.Abbie Parr/The Associated Press
The Olympic medal leader, Norway, scored yet another win tonight, when Tormod Frostad won a surprise gold in the freeski big air final in Livigno. His win takes Norway’s gold medal haul to 14 – five more than second place Italy.
Mac Forehand of the U.S. took silver and Austria’s Matej Svancer won bronze.
The poor visibility on a snowy night did not stop the competitors from performing intricate, high-amplitude tricks. In one of his runs, Forehand, 24, accomplished six full rotations, triggering a roar from the spectators.
Big air sees competitors shoot down a steep incline and soar off ramp with a 39-degree pitch, after which they are airborne for about 2.5 seconds before landing at more than 60 kms/hr. They make three runs; the lowest score is dropped.
Two Canadians entered the event. Evan McEachran, 28, of Oakville, Ont., did not make it into the final round. Quebec’s Dylan Deschamps, 23, had one of the strongest second runs among the 12 finalists runs and might have headed to the podium if his third run was of equal quality. He finished 7th.
02/17/26 15:44
Canada into men’s curling semis with 9-5 win over Great Britain
- Rachel Brady
Canada's Ben Hebert, Marc Kennedy and Brett Gallant compete against Great Britain.TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images
Team Brad Jacobs has booked a spot in the Olympic semifinals at Milan Cortina following a 9-5 victory over Bruce Mouat’s world championship-winning rink from Great Britain today.
Jacobs’ Canadian team improved to 6-1 in the men’s Olympic curling bonspiel, good for second place in the round-robin standings with two games to play.
Switzerland, who moved to 7-0 today, sits first and has also clinched a semifinal berth. Mouat’s side, who came to Cortina as the gold medal favourite, is now at risk of missing the playoffs with a record of 4-4.
There are 10 teams in the men’s bonspiel at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, but only the top four get to play in Thursday’s semifinals.
Jacobs’ Canadian side, which also includes Ben Hebert, Brett Gallant and Marc Kennedy, opened with two in the first end for a fast lead, before the two teams traded singles.
Mouat’s draw for two tied it up in the fourth. Then Jacobs put his team ahead again, drawing for a single to go into the half-game break.
In the sixth, Team Mouat scored two more to grab back the lead, before Jacobs recorded a triple in the seventh. Facing four in the eighth end, Mouat allowed Canada just a single. Canada recorded singles in the eighth and ninth to put it away a team they respect greatly.
“[Mouat] missed a couple, and Brad made a couple big ones, and that’s the difference, but that is that is an unbelievable team,” said Kennedy. “They have set the bar for curling over the past four or five years. I know it’s been a bit of a struggle for them this week, but man, the sport has changed because of how good they are.”
02/17/26 15:15
Deschamps finishes 7th in big air
- Globe Staff
Deschamps is making his Olympic debut.Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Canadian freestyle skier Dyland Deschamps finished off the podium but with lots to be proud of in the men’s big air final.
The 23-year-old from Quebec City ended up in 7th place after falling on his first run of the final. But he rebounded with a strong second run to make it to the third, where difficulty completing a grab left him well off the podium in his Olympic debut.
Deschamps’ total score was 137.50, while gold-medal winner Tormod Frostad posted 195.50 to unseat Norwegian teammate Birk Ruud, the defending champion. Silver went to American Mac Forehand, Matej Svancer of Austria got bronze, and Ruud finished behind Deschamps in 8th.
02/17/26 14:58
Defending champs Sweden eliminated from men’s curling medal contention
Sweden's Niklas Edin, Oskar Eriksson, Rasmus Wranaa, and Christoffer Sundgren confer during the session against Switzerland.Misper Apawu/The Associated Press
Defending champion Sweden was eliminated from semifinal contention in the men’s curling competition at the Winter Olympics with two matches to spare today after what skip Niklas Edin described as a “horrible week.”
A 9-4 loss to Switzerland in the morning session dropped Sweden’s record in round-robin play to 1-6, leaving the team unable to secure a place in the top four and play for a medal.
The Swedes have been on the podium in each of the last three Winter Games under Edin, winning bronze in 2014, silver in 2018 and gold in Beijing in 2022.
Sweden has been embroiled in a headline-grabbing cheating controversy over the past few days, since one of its players — Oskar Eriksson — accused Canadian rival Marc Kennedy of an illegal double-touch in a feisty match on Saturday.
Edin regretted getting involved in the controversy and said it affected the team.
“It’s tough to deal with,” he said. “We maybe should have done something different and could have dealt with it differently, too.
“It would have been nice to just blank our minds and forget about it. But that was easier said than done. So a little lack of sleep, a little lack of focus on the right things, and it turned into a horrible week.”
- The Associated Press
02/17/26 14:51
In Olympic hockey, player intel is an inside job
– Grant Robertson
Team USA's Auston Matthews will be a familiar face for many of his Olympic opponents, including his Toronto Maple Leaf teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
When Swedish defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was preparing for the Milan Cortina Olympics, he joked he only had a few more weeks to gather intelligence on Auston Matthews.
The two are teammates on the Toronto Maple Leafs, where they battle for each other on a nightly basis. But in Milan they are on different sides of the puck. Knowing just how unstoppable Matthews can be in the NHL, it’s natural to think his Swedish teammates could benefit from an insider scouting report, no?
“Obviously, if we go up against, let’s say, Matthews, you’re probably giving them some tips right?” Ekman-Larsson said with a smile, choosing his words carefully on what is otherwise a delicate subject.
“I think that’s how it works in the hockey world.”
Players don’t like to talk about it. But make no mistake, when a guy puts on the jersey of his country, it changes his loyalties. And when it comes to the Olympics, players are dishing on their teammates.
02/17/26 14:40
Megan Oldham’s hometown to celebrate Olympic champion
Team Canada’s Megan Oldham holds her gold medal on the big air podium.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
Parry Sound, Ont., is getting ready to celebrate its Megan Oldham and her Olympic gold and bronze medals.
Mayor Jamie McGarvey says the town is planning an event in honour of Oldham on Feb. 28 at Charles W. Stockey Center for the Performing Arts.
The 24-year-old freestyle skier survived a 75-minute weather delay to win gold in women’s big air in dominant fashion at Livigno Snow Park in Italy on Monday.
Oldham had already earned a bronze in slopestyle, recovering from a crash on her second run to make the podium on Feb. 9.
McGarvey says people in his community are proud of her achievements and were pleased to see her win her second medal at the Winter Olympics.
“It’s like the community was abuzz when she won bronze, but right now it’s just humming, like, everybody is so pleased, so proud that she did a great performance in the big air,” he said in an interview today.
“We’re just so pleased that she was able to achieve what she has achieved and, for a young person her age, so amazing.”
Parry Sound, a community of approximately 7,000 people two hours north of Toronto, is also the hometown of famed hockey player Bobby Orr.
- The Canadian Press
02/17/26 14:15
Canadian bobsledders advance to two-man final in 17th place
- Globe Staff
Canada's Taylor Austin, right, and Shaquille Murray-Lawrence start for a two man bobsled run yesterday.Alessandra Tarantino/The Associated Press
Taylor Austin and Shaq Murray-Lawrence have advanced to the final run of men’s two-man bobsled set for 3:05 p.m. ET.
The pair currently sit in 17th place after run 3, 3.54 seconds behind the leaders Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer of Germany.
Canadian teammates Jay Dearborn and Mike Evelyn O’Higgins, 4.99 seconds back from the top spot, finished in 23rd place and did not advance to the final run.
02/17/26 13:44
Opinion: Italy’s version of Own The Podium is producing golden results
- Eric Reguly
Italy's Federica Brignone celebrates her women's giant slalom gold medal on Sunday.Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images
Four years after leaving Beijing with 17 medals, only two gold, Italy has come back with a vengeance in 2026. By today, the host country had won 24 medals – nine gold, four silver and 11 bronze – putting it in second spot in the medal table, after perennial Winter Games superstar Norway. Canada had won 12 medals, only three of them gold.
“Italy’s performance has been the story of the Games,” says Alpine Canada chief executive Therese Brisson, who was a member of Canada’s gold medal-winning hockey squad at the Salt Lake City 2002 Games.
How to explain Team Italy’s magic run?
The home-country advantage is often cited as the trick, but I don’t really buy the theory. Curling rinks are the same everywhere; only the ice quality differs. If the argument was solid, why did Italy post a mediocre performance in Turin in 2006? In those Olympics, in the country’s northwest, Italy won only 11 medals, though five of them were gold.
The better explanation for Italy’s success is investment – and lots of it – in both athletes and infrastructure. Remember Own the Podium? That was the garish name for the program designed to push Canadian athletes onto the podium in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and beyond. It was launched after Canada embarrassed itself by not winning a single gold in the two Olympics it had played host to – Montreal 1976 and Calgary in 1988.
It worked. Canada left Vancouver with an astonishing 14 golds – an all-time record at a single Winter Olympics – and 26 medals overall.
Italy did not precisely recreate Canada’s Own The Podium. But the country seems to have been inspired by it. A variety of programs were launched to tune-up veteran athletes, like Brignone, and give the newcomers the best training, coaching and equipment. Other programs overhauled infrastructure to make it world class.
So bravo for Italy. Yes, the home-country advantage played a role in its high medal count. But, in the end, money – and lots of it – delivered the results.
02/17/26 13:19
Canada will face Czechia in men’s hockey quarterfinal
- Globe Staff
Czechia beat Denmark 3-2 in today’s qualifying match to advance to the quarterfinal against top-seeded Canada tomorrow at 10:40 a.m. ET.
The Canadians beat the Czechs 5-0 in their first game of the tournament.
Czechia's Martin Necas skates ahead of Denmark's Oliver Bjorkstrand.Hassan Ammar/The Associated Press
02/17/26 12:49
Opinion: Canada’s Olympic dream can be found in creating 40 million neighbours
- Cathal Kelly
Valérie Maltais, left, is one of many Quebeckers pulling more than their weight to get Canada on the podium.Ben Curtis/The Associated Press
Of Canada’s 12 medals, five have been won by Quebeckers, another was won by a team that is 5/6th Quebeckers, and the latest by a team of three with one Quebecker.
If you want get all sabermetrical about it, Quebec has more than 51 per cent of Canada’s medals, against 23 per cent of the total population. That’s good ROI.
But because it is winning, does it feel like the rest of us are not? Not to me. That’s an old, tired story about division. The way the global order is shifting is encouraging a new, more interesting story about solidarity.
The Olympics is where we all act like we live on the same block. Someone from Alberta won a silver medal in ski-skating or snow-jumping or whatever. You don’t have any idea what that is, and you’ve never heard of the small town they’re from, but you’re very stoked about their win. For reasons you might have trouble articulating, you share in it.
Medals do matter. They prove to the rest of the world that we are robust, well financed and capable of making a good presentation. We win medals for the same reason the Milanese don’t go out in public in jogging pants. However, that is the external messaging of an Olympics.
The internal messaging is more fundamental, and largely unaffected by performance. It is that feeling you get when you turn on the TV because you want to see how Canada is doing.
Often, that means no particular individual. You could start out watching something having no idea who the Canadians in it are, and by the end feel that regardless of where they’re from that their outcomes are your outcomes, good or bad.
That’s more than sport. That is the dream of this country.
02/17/26 12:15
Often unseen, flower kids help keep the Olympic figure skating flowing
- Robyn Doolittle
The flower kids enjoy the music during a break in the rhythm dance competition in figure skating on Feb. 9.Francisco Seco/The Associated Press
Their official title is ‘flower kid’ and their moment starts as soon as the music ends.
In figure skating, it is customary for fans to throw gifts on the ice for skaters after a performance, but this show of appreciation can slow down the whole event and cause tripping hazards if anything is missed. That’s where the flower kids come in and you’ll see them in the background each night here in Milan.
At the end of a skate, as stuffed animals and the occasional wrapped bouquet rain down from the stands, half-a-dozen little girls in matching blue-and-pink zip-ups bolt onto the ice, grab the goods, and get off again before the marks are announced and the next performance is set to start.
While 30 kids were selected in total, only 20 come to the rink for each event. They sit in two rows of 10 and watch the routines with a blanket draped over their legs. Once the skaters hit their final pose, the girls jump to their feet ready and move like a conveyor belt out the door and back. The skaters bring the gifts back to the box, where they are then taken to a separate room in the back for the skaters to pick up later.
The flower kids will be back tonight for the women’s short program, where Canadian champion Madeline Schizas is set to perform 19th. The event starts a little before 1 p.m. ET and Schizas will skate at 3:41 p.m. ET.
02/17/26 12:05
The Shaq of the bobsled track has made his Olympic debut for Canada
Canada's Taylor Austin, front, and Shaquille Murray-Lawrence during a two-man bobsled run on Monday.Alessandra Tarantino/The Associated Press
He was named after two basketball stars, with his father hoping he would end up following in their footsteps. In a way, he has.
Meet Shaquille Anfernee Murray-Lawrence, a Canadian bobsled push athlete at the Milan Cortina Games. He was born in 1993, and yes, was named after Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee (Penny) Hardaway, who were teammates with the Orlando Magic and teamed up to win Olympic gold for USA Basketball at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
Murray-Lawrence probably won’t be winning gold at these games – he and pilot Taylor Austin were 15th after Monday’s first two runs of the two-man event – but he can say that, just like his namesakes, he’s now an Olympian.
“Today is very special for me, my country, my friends, family, my whole community,” Murray-Lawrence said. “Just being able to give it my all and just represent Canada.”
Murray-Lawrence is not a 7-footer who could dominate the paint like O’Neal. Nor is he a 6-footer with the smooth handles and explosive playmaking of Hardaway. At somewhere around 5-foot-8, the Scarborough, Ont. product decided to pursue football in the United States.
The Canadian Football League came calling, however. All the while, Bobsled Canada took notice.
And his winding track through sport now requires a sleigh.
- The Associated Press
02/17/26 11:45
Olympians get comfy in athletes village
- Globe staff
There was an exciting delivery in the Cortina d’Ampezzo athletes village: Olympic-themed comforters. Canadian curler Emma Miskew unveiled the blanket in a video shared to Instagram yesterday.
02/17/26 11:16
Schizas returns for women’s singles short program
Madeline Schizas competes in women single skating on Feb. 8.Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Madeline Schizas makes her return to the ice for the women’s singles short program.
The 23-year-old from Oakville, Ont., last competed on Feb. 8 as part of the team event final, where she placed fifth with 125.00 points. Canada finished fourth in the team event.
The second-time Olympian will look to improve on her 18th-place finish at the 2022 Beijing Games.
- The Canadian Press
02/17/26 11:16
France’s Crinon suspended after fight with Canada’s Wilson in their final group game
- Jamie Ross
France's Pierre Crinon and Canada's Tom Wilson fight in the third period on Sunday.Hassan Ammar/The Associated Press
Tom Wilson, the closest thing Canada has to an enforcer at these Olympics, was surprised when he learned his fight partner from Sunday’s win against France had been banned for the remainder of the Winter Games by his own sports federation.
Pierre Crinon, a defenceman on the France’s men’s hockey team, was banned by the French Ice Hockey Federation on Monday for what it called provocative behaviour in a lopsided loss to the Canadian side.
On Tuesday, Wilson said he had no regrets about his tussle, an unusual sight in international hockey that comes with a game misconduct, but not a suspension.
“It’s fight or flight,” said Wilson, who is no stranger to dropping the gloves in his day job for the Washington Capitals.
“I was aware that as long I didn’t take it too far, or that he didn’t take it too far, I should be able to play in the next game,” he said.
Crinon’s teammates sounded off on the decision by their own federation to send him home.
“We are a big family, when we come together we come as brothers and they just got rid of one of our brothers. So it’s a joke from the French committee,” said goaltender Antoine Keller, according to Reuters.
France was eliminated from contention after a 5-1 loss to Germany on Tuesday.
Wilson spoke to reporters after Canada’s off-day practice at Milano Santagiulia Ice Arena. Canada earned a bye to the quarterfinal and will face the winner of Czechia-Denmark, who were due to play Tuesday afternoon at 12:40 p.m. ET.
02/17/26 11:02
Homan hands Sweden their first curling loss
- Rachel Brady
Sarah Wilkes, Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Rachel Homan celebrate after winning the match against Sweden.Issei Kato/Reuters
Rachel Homan’s rink kept its playoff hopes alive on Tuesday by handing Sweden its first loss of the women’s Olympic curling bonspiel in Cortina.
Canada’s women improved to 4-3 with two games left to go in round robin play, thanks to an 8-6 victory over Anna Hasselborg’s Swedish team (6-1).
The Canadian team sits tied with Republic of Korea in the standings, behind Sweden (who has already punched its ticket), Switzerland and the U.S.
There are 10 teams in the bonspiel, but only the top four will advance to Friday’s semifinals.
Tuesday’s game featured two of the best skips in the women’s game. Hasselborg won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and bronze at the Beijing Winter Games in 2022. Homan, a world champ, appears in her third Games, but has yet to win a medal.
With the hammer in the 10th end, Homan’s side, which also includes Sarah Wilkes, Emma Miskew and Tracy Fleury, scored a deuce to secure the win after a back-and forth contest.
“We were hoping to, that we could put enough pressure on, that we’d have a chance in the end,” said Miskew. “It was a good battle.”
Team Homan’s coach was asked if there’s a curling rivalry brewing between Canada and Sweden, in light of the controversy with Canadian curler Marc Kennedy’s expletive-filled on-ice outburst after Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson accused him of breaking the rules by touching the granite with his finger after releasing the stone in a Friday men’s game. The intensity has ratcheted up for everybody at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium since then, in men’s and women’s games.
“It’s not just us and them, it’s all of us,” said Heather Nedohin. “I think we’re all trying to live our dreams out, and this is the stage to do it, so it’s intense. It’s, but I mean, how awesome is that?”
Canada still must play Italy on Wednesday (1 p.m. ET) and Republic of Korea on Thursday (3 a.m. ET).
Canada’s men’s team, skipped by Brad Jacobs is in action next on Tuesday (1 p.m. ET) against Bruce Mouat’s rink from Great Britain.
02/17/26 10:55
Speed skaters win second consecutive Olympic gold in women’s team pursuit
This is Canada’s third gold medal of these Games – one shy of their total at Beijing.DANIEL MUNOZ/Getty Images
Canada’s women’s long-track team pursuit trio – Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais – won a gold medal in Milan on Tuesday. They defeated a notably younger Dutch team who led for much of the race. But in the end, the vastly experienced Canadians reeled them back in.
This is a repeat of the same medal in the same discipline with the same group at the last Olympics.
The Dutch fans were in the vast majority inside the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, but the Canadians carried the day, on and off the field of play. By the end, those in red and white were dancing in the aisles.
As Weidemann, Blondin and Maltais circled the ice in victory, the PA blasted Shania Twain – which worked on a bunch of levels.
This is Canada’s third gold medal of these Games – one shy of their total at Beijing.
02/17/26 10:40
MacKinnon, Bennett sit out practice at Olympics for maintenance
Canadian forward Nathan MacKinnon and Swiss counterpart Nico Hischier battle for the puck on Feb. 13.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Bennett were absent from Canada’s practice Tuesday ahead of the men’s hockey quarterfinals at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Head coach Jon Cooper said both forwards were held off the ice for “maintenance” and there’s “no panic” with Wednesday’s do-or-die game against either Czechia or Denmark on deck.
MacKinnon took a forearm cheap shot to the jaw from French defenceman Pierre Crinon in the third period of Sunday’s 10-2 victory that wrapped up Canada’s perfect preliminary round.
Tom Wilson dropped the gloves with Crinon – the first fight in Olympic hockey since 1998 – which resulted both players getting ejected under International Ice Hockey Federation rules on fisticuffs.
Josh Morrissey was a full participant in practice after leaving the country’s opener against Czechia with an undisclosed injury and sitting out the last two games. Cooper said Morrissey “looked great,” but didn’t know if he would be available for the quarters.
Veteran forward Brad Marchand, meanwhile, is available for Canada’s first do-or-die game after missing the last two contests with an undisclosed ailment.
- The Canadian Press
02/17/26 10:30
What’s in a day for the photographers who snap athletes at the Games?
You see the photos, you marvel at the angles as athletes glide at speed and pirouette in the air, or gasp when they crash. But what's in a day for the photographers who snap those unique moments?
The Associated Press
02/17/26 10:20
The risk of the Winter Olympics is – surprise! – winter.
- Eric Reguly
The slopestyle course is seen during heavy snow in Livigno.Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press
I never made it today to Bormio or Livigno, the Olympic mountain towns about three hours north of Milan that host, respectively, the men’s alpine races and the men’s and women’s freestyle events.
The snow prevented me from hitting the road. My rental car lacks snow tires (although I had requested them); the Olympic bus schedule was in disarray because of the snow-choked, high-altitude mountain passes. The Foscagno Pass between Bormio and Livigno reaches an altitude of 2,291 metres. The twisty, two-lane road at that elevation can be treacherous even when it’s not snowing.
Lack of snow was billed as the greatest potential Olympics problem in climate-change whacked Italy; in the last couple of days, the problem has been too much snow, especially of the vision-blocking, billowing variety.
On Monday night, the women’s freestyle big air competition in Livigno, which was won by Canada’s Megan Oldman, was delayed by more than an hour over worries about visibility. When you are barrelling toward a ramp that launches you into low-earth orbit, you would like to see your landing spot.
On Tuesday, two other events were delayed – the men’s and women’s aerial qualification rounds and the women’s snowboard slopestyle final – “due to weather conditions,” the Games organizers said.
By late afternoon on Tuesday, local time, neither event had been rescheduled. The men’s freestyle big air final, also in Livigno, was still set to go at 7:30 pm local time, but that could change.
The forecast called for snow in both Bormio and Livigno on and off for the rest of the week. With the Livigno events still in full swing – Bormio’s are winding down – the mountain events’ schedule for the last five days of the Olympics is uncertain.
I am not complaining. The views of the snow-draped trees and mountains from my chalet-hotel, deep in a valley about a dozen kilometres beyond Bormio, are bewitching. I will yearn for these cold, white days when the savage, near-tropical heat wallops Italy in about three months.
02/17/26 09:38
Heated Rivalry is being embraced by fans and athletes at the Winter Olympics
Hudson Williams, left, and Connor Storrie in a scene from Heated Rivalry.Crave/via The Associated Press
Olympic hockey knows all about big hits. That now includes Heated Rivalry a gay hockey romance TV series in which two players from opposing teams carry out a secret, long-term relationship.
The show’s impact was evident long before the Milan Cortina Olympics when co-stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie carried the Olympic flame. And it hasn’t stopped there. Athletes and fans from Canada and the U.S. are feeling the show’s impact.
Its biggest fans at the Olympics may be the Canadian delegation.
As part of the Olympic experience, athletes were gifted a potted plant. Many of the Canadians named theirs Shane or Ilya, according to the delegation’s lead press liaison, Tara MacBournie.
Canadian Alpine skier Kiki Alexander took the love a bit further, sharing on her TikTok that the village’s Canadian moose has been named Shane.
“If you know, you know,” she wrote.
Jake Sanderson, a U.S. defenceman who plays for the Ottawa Senators, said he has heard about the show, but doesn’t know much about it. When asked how far off the NHL is from having an openly gay player, Sanderson cited Luke Prokop. In 2021, Prokop was a Nashville Predators prospect who became the first player signed to an NHL contract to come out, though he has not yet played in the league.
“You never know if that show [will] instill some confidence in some people,” said Sanderson, adding that any openly gay player would be fully accepted in the locker room. “I don’t think we would treat them any differently. They’re our teammate, we love them no matter what, and obviously embrace them, absolutely.”
- The Associated Press
02/17/26 09:05
Canada to take on Netherlands for gold in women’s long-track team pursuit
Isabelle Weidemann, Valérie Maltais and Ivanie Blondin of Team Canada compete in the semifinal.Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Defending champion Canada will face the Netherlands in the gold medal race in women’s team pursuit speed skating at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Valérie Maltais, Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann beat the United States by more than four seconds in their semifinal to move on.
The Netherlands beat Japan.
- The Canadian Press
02/17/26 08:20
Women’s curling team takes on an undefeated Swedish squad
Rachel Homan in action during the women's curling round robin session against Sweden.Misper Apawu/The Associated Press
Canada’s curlers are back in action in Cortina, where Rachel Homan’s team is taking on an undefeated Swedish squad.
The Ottawa-based rink snapped their three-game losing streak with decisive wins over China and Japan yesterday to even their round-robin record at 3-3.
They need to climb into the top four to make the playoff round.
- The Canadian Press
02/17/26 08:02
Lighter-coloured boards replace dark ones in the hockey arenas
Germany plays France at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena today. The boards encasing the rinks are now light blue and green.Mike Segar/Reuters
The hockey arenas at the Milan Cortina Olympics got a new look as the knockout round of the men’s tournament got under way Tuesday.
The boards encasing the rinks are now light blue and green after the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association made the case to the International Olympic Committee to make a change from the dark colour during the preliminary round.
Players talked to the league and union about the boards after each team’s first practice in Milan.
U.S. goaltender Jeremy Swayman lost sight of the puck in the boards and the stands during his one round-robin game in net against Denmark. Swayman joked he was colour-blind, so it didn’t matter to him.
“It was a flash screen and it was just the perfect height right between the stands and board level, and I truly lost it,” Swayman said after the 6-3 win. “It’s something all of us always have to face, and we play in different arenas every night in the NHL, so this is just one, another one, and it’s a challenge that we have to embrace.”
- The Associated Press
02/17/26 07:48
Meet the first on‑ice camera operator for Olympic figure skating
Former U.S. competitive ice dancer Jordan Cowan is the first camera operator on figure skating ice in Olympic history, capturing intimate moments that the overhead or sideboard cameras cannot.
The Associated Press
02/17/26 07:18
Lindsey Vonn back in U.S. after crash in Olympic downhill
U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn lies in a hospital bed, after she crashed during the women's downhill, in Treviso, Italy, on Feb. 11.@lindseyvonn via Instagram/Reuters
Lindsey Vonn is back home in the U.S. following a week of treatment at a hospital in Italy after breaking her left leg in the Olympic downhill at the Milan Cortina Games.
“Haven’t stood on my feet in over a week … been in a hospital bed immobile since my race. And although I’m not yet able to stand, being back on home soil feels amazing,” Vonn posted on X with an American flag emoji. “Huge thank you to everyone in Italy for taking good care of me.”
The 41-year-old Vonn suffered a complex tibia fracture that has already been operated on multiple times following her Feb. 8 crash. She has said she’ll need more surgery in the U.S.
Nine days before her fall in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn ruptured the ACL in her left knee in another crash in Switzerland. Even before then, all eyes had been on her as the feel-good story heading into the Olympics for her comeback after nearly six years of retirement.
- The Associated Press
02/17/26 06:35
Heated rivalry between Canada and U.S. comes down to yet another women’s gold-medal showdown
- Grant Robertson
Canada's goalkeeper Ann-Renee Desbiens challenges United States' Tessa Janecke during a preliminary round match on Feb. 10.Hassan Ammar/The Associated Press
On the ice or on television, there’s no heated rivalry quite like this one.
Canada and the United States are locked in for another gold-medal showdown in women’s hockey – the seventh time these two teams have met in the final of the Olympics.
It is a feud unlike anything else in hockey.
In their previous six gold-medal meetings at the Olympics, Canada has won four times, the U.S. twice. Four times the matchups have been decided by a 3-2 score; one of those was settled in overtime, another came down to a shootout.
“We’re going to have to scratch and claw and absolutely bring our best game,” Canadian forward Brianne Jenner said Monday after Canada won its semi-final over Switzerlandto advance to Thursday’s final in Milan.
Since the women’s game debuted at the Olympics in 1998, it has always been a polarized battle between these two countries. Only once – when Canada beat Sweden for gold in 2006 – has it not come down to the two superpowers of women’s hockey.
02/17/26 06:05
Heavy snow upends freestyle skiing and snowboard events
Workers clear snow as the freestyle skiing women's aerials qualification is delayed due to adverse weather conditions in Livigno.Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Heavy snow scrambled the Winter Olympics schedule in the Italian town of Livigno as organizers postponed the women’s snowboard slopestyle medal event and reworked the start times for freestyle skiing aerials.
Officials decided it was too dangerous to start the qualifying round for women’s aerials on Tuesday morning under a steady snowfall, which could limit visibility and impact speed on the steep jump at the Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park. They rescheduled the event for Tuesday afternoon as workers used shovels to keep the buildup of snow on the course to a minimum. Temperatures hovered at a chilly -6 Celsius.
Competitors in the women’s aerials qualifying had completed practice rounds just before organizers postponed the event’s start.
Moving the women’s aerials forced a postponement in the men’s qualifying round that had been set for Tuesday afternoon. A new date and time for the men’s event has not yet been announced.
Across town, organizers cancelled the women’s slopestyle final scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at the Livigno Snow Park and said they would move it to another day. Canadian snowboarders Laurie Blouin, who won silver in slopestyle in 2018 in Pyeongchang and placed fourth four years ago in Beijing, and Juliette Pelchat are both in the 12-woman slopestyle field.
- Reuters and The Canadian Press
02/17/26 05:50
- Jamie Ross
Will Trump show up for the men’s gold medal hockey game if U.S. plays?
USA's Auston Matthews celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the match against Germany on Sunday.ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images
Could U.S. President Donald Trump show up for the men’s hockey game, should the United States play for the gold medal on Sunday?
There are preparations under way according to a report in the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Asked about the possibility on Tuesday at a daily media briefing at the Main Press Centre in Milan, IOC spokesman Mark Adams wouldn’t tip his hand.
“You wouldn’t expect me to comment on the movements of heads of state,” Adams said.
The report in the Corriere says police have already begun planning for Trump’s possible arrival.
The U.S. men’s team (3-0) still needs to earn a berth in the final. It has a bye to the quarterfinal, which is set for Wednesday. The semifinal is Friday, and the gold medal game goes Sunday at 8:10 a.m. ET
Canada (3-0), meanwhile, also earned a bye to Wednesday’s quarterfinal at 4:40 p.m. ET against a yet-to-be determined opponent.
02/17/26 05:30
Laurie Blouin, Juliette Pelchat compete in women’s snowboard slopestyle final
Laurie Blouin, from Quebec City, was ninth in qualifying.JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images
Canadians Laurie Blouin and Juliette Pelchat compete in the women’s snowboard slopestyle final. Blouin, from Quebec City, was ninth in qualifying but will look to improve upon her fourth-place finish at the 2022 Beijing Games after winning silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. Pelchat, from Whistler, B.C., was the 12th and final qualifier in her Olympic debut.
- The Canadian Press
02/17/26 05:15
Women’s curling team to play Sweden, men take on Great Britain
Emma Miskew, Rachel Homan and Sarah Wilkes in action during the match against Japan on Monday.Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters
Rachel Homan’s Ottawa-based rink looks to build on its rebound when it faces Sweden in round-robin action. Homan defeated China 10-5 and Japan 9-6 on Monday to snap a three-game losing streak.
Brad Jacobs, meanwhile, takes Canada’s men against Great Britain after an 8-2 win over Czechia improved their record to 5-1.
- The Canadian Press
02/17/26 05:10
Speed skaters return to defend their women’s team pursuit title
Team Canada is led by Isabelle Weidemann, followed by Valérie Maltais, centre, and Ivanie Blondin, left, as they compete in the women's team pursuit quarterfinals speed skating race on Saturday.Luca Bruno/The Associated Press
Canada’s reigning Olympic champion women’s speed skating team returns to defend its title in the team pursuit semifinals today at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Valérie Maltais of La Baie, Que., and Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann posted the fastest quarterfinal time at two minutes 55.03 seconds and will face the United States in the semifinal. The medal races are scheduled for later in the day.
“We think about that final, but we need to get to the final first. One step at a time,” said Maltais, who won bronze in the women’s 3,000-metre at these Games.
- The Canadian Press and Reuters
02/17/26 05:05
Czechia and Denmark play to determine Canada’s opponent in men’s hockey quarterfinal
Connor McDavid of Team Canada during third period Olympic hockey action against France on Sunday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Canada’s men’s hockey team finds out its quarterfinal opponent when Czechia and Denmark meet in today’s qualification playoff.
The Canadians cruised through Group A, outscoring their opponents 20-3. Connor McDavid has led the way with nine points (two goals, seven assists) alongside 38-year-old Sidney Crosby (two goals, four assists) and 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini (four goals, two assists). The quarterfinals are Wednesday.
- The Canadian Press
02/17/26 05:00
Today’s Olympic schedule and event start times
- Globe staff
It’s another packed day in Italy as the 2026 Winter Games as Canadian Olympians aim for more gold medals in the final week of competition.
On the ice, speed skaters Isabelle Weidemann, Valérie Maltais and Ivanie Blondin are trying to defend their women’s team pursuit Olympic title, and Canada’s men’s curling team are playing top-ranked Great Britain.
On the slopes, Dylan Deschamps is jumping for a medal in men’s freeski big air and Juliette Pelchat and Laurie Blouin are in the women’s snowboard slopestyle final.
Dylan Deschamps of Canada in action during his third run of men's freeski big air qualification on Sunday.Marko Djurica/Reuters
Here are the events to watch for, and you can find the full schedule here.
- 4:45 a.m. ET - Freestyle skiing women’s aerials qualification (Canada’s Marion Thenault)
- 7:30 a.m. ET – Freestyle skiing men’s aerials qualification (Miha Fontaine among Canadians)
- 8:05 a.m. ET - Canada vs. Sweden women’s curling round-robin
- 8:52 a.m. ET - Speed skating women’s team pursuit semifinal (Canada competing)
- 10:40 a.m. ET - Czechia vs. Denmark men’s hockey (Canada plays winner in quarterfinal)
- 12:45 p.m. - Figure skating women’s short program (Canada’s Madeline Schizas)
- 1:00 p.m. ET - Two-man bobsleigh run 3 (Taylor Austin and Shaq Murray-Lawrence among Canadians)
- 1:05 p.m. ET - Canada vs. Great Britain men’s curling round-robin
Medal events:
- 7 a.m. ET - Snowboard women’s slopestyle (Canada’s Juliette Pelchat and Laurie Blouin)
- 7:45 a.m. - Nordic combined men’s Gundersen 10km
- 8:30 a.m. ET - Biathlon men’s 4x7.5km relay (Canada competing)
- 10:22 a.m. ET - Speed skating men’s team pursuit
- 10:41 a.m. ET - Speed skating women’s team pursuit
- 1:30 p.m. ET - Freestyle skiing men’s big air (Canada’s Dylan Deschamps)
- 3:05 p.m. ET - Two-man bobsleigh
02/17/26 05:00
Where 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.
02/17/26 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 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.
02/17/26 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.