Day 2: Team Canada’s Journey at Milano Cortina 2026
February 8, 2026
On the second day of competition at Milano Cortina 2026, Team Canada may not have expanded its medal tally, but the day was filled with remarkable performances that showcased the athletes’ talents and determination.
Let’s delve into the highlights of the day’s events.
Figure Skating
In the team event, Canada achieved a commendable fifth place overall, accumulating a total of 54 points. The gold medal was claimed by the United States with an impressive score of 69 points, while Japan secured silver with 68 points, and the host nation, Italy, took home the bronze with 60 points.
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud kicked off the final day of the team event with a dynamic pairs free skate performance, scoring 134.42 points, which left them just shy of fourth place by less than a point. Madeline Schizas made a strong comeback after a fall during her opening triple lutz, finishing the women’s free skate with a score of 125.00 points. The men's free skate concluded the event with Stephen Gogolev earning a solid fourth place with a score of 171.93 points, featuring two flawless quad salchows in his routine.
Snowboarding
In the parallel giant slalom events, Arnaud Gaudet emerged as Canada’s leading competitor, advancing to the men’s quarterfinals before narrowly losing to Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov, who went on to win the bronze medal, by a heartbreaking margin of just three one-hundredths (0.03) of a second. This performance placed Arnaud sixth overall in the event. Unfortunately, Ben Heldman, making his Olympic debut, finished 26th and did not progress beyond the qualification round.
Both Canadian athletes competing in the women’s parallel giant slalom reached the ⅛ finals. Aurélie Moisan, in her Olympic debut, secured 12th place overall, followed closely by Kaylie Buck in 14th place.
Qualification rounds for the women’s big air were also conducted today, but sadly, neither Laurie Blouin nor Juliette Pelchat advanced to the final 12. Blouin’s best two tricks scored a total of 150.25 points, placing her in 14th, while Pelchat, also in her Olympic debut, scored 148.00 points for 16th place.
Cross-Country Skiing
Xavier McKeever led the way for Canada in the men’s 20km skiathlon, finishing in 13th place with a time of 47:22.3. It is worth noting that this event was a new addition to the Olympics as men previously competed in a 30km skiathlon. Starting the race in 18th place after the first 10km segment using classical technique, McKeever made significant progress during the freestyle leg. At just 22 years old, he is following in the footsteps of his Olympian parents, Robin McKeever and Milaine Thériault.
READ: Cross-country skier Xavier McKeever adds to family legacy with “surreal” Olympic debut.
Antoine Cyr finished 25th, just ahead of Max Hollmann, who came in at 27th. Rémi Drolet rounded out the Canadian performance with a 42nd place finish in a competitive field of 74 skiers.
Curling
Unfortunately, Canada’s aspirations for a medal in mixed doubles curling were dashed when Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant suffered defeats in both of their matches on Day 2. They began the day with a close 7-6 loss to Sweden, followed by a 9-5 defeat against South Korea.
READ: Peterman & Gallant mixed doubles curling Olympic medal hopes end in disappointment.
Biathlon
In the opening biathlon event of these Games, Canada placed 17th in the mixed relay. The team, consisting of Adam Runnalls, Jasper Fleming, Pascale Paradis, and Nadia Moser, recorded a time of 1:08:37.1, marking the Olympic debuts for Fleming, Paradis, and Moser.
Runnalls made a strong start, putting Canada in ninth place after his leg thanks to his clean shooting performance. He expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "This is my favourite place in the world to compete, so it feels good right now. The adrenaline kicked in this morning and helped me out. I think I did a decent job preparing and getting my mind right."
The youngest member of the team, 20-year-old Fleming, experienced some challenges at the shooting range, requiring him to ski a 150m penalty loop after running out of spare bullets. Both Paradis and Moser utilized all of their spare rounds to hit their ten targets.
Alpine Skiing
The women’s downhill event was overshadowed by a serious crash involving American skiing star Lindsey Vonn, who was airlifted from the slope after her fall. Just seven skiers later, Canada’s Valérie Grenier faced her own troubles at the starting gate when she encountered issues with her pole. Despite her attempts to resolve the situation, she missed the designated window to begin her run and was disqualified, despite successfully skiing the entire course. Grenier commented, "The conditions were perfect. I’m not claiming I would have medaled, but I was ready to give it my all today. Unfortunately, I just faced bad luck at the start."
In her first Olympic downhill, Cassidy Gray finished in 26th place. Both Grenier and Gray are set to compete in the upcoming team combined event, which is a new addition to the Olympic program, scheduled in two days.
Long Track Speed Skating
Ted-Jan Bloemen, competing in his third Olympic Games at the age of 39, finished 13th in the men’s 5000m with a time of 6:17.97. The event was highlighted by an Olympic record of 6:03.95 established by gold medalist Sander Eitrim from Norway.
READ: Bloemen unable to return to 5000m Olympic podium but proud of fight he put in.
