Written by: Claire Cotie
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games were hosted in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Known as MilanoCortina, the games featured 16 different sports with 116 medal events. More than 2,900 athletes represented 92 countries and Olympic Committees, with Team Canada among them, sending 207 athletes.
The Olympic torch relay began on November 26, 2025, in Greece and was carried by more than 10,000 torchbearers through Italy before reaching the Olympics’ opening ceremonies on February 6th. Canada’s flag-bearers for the opening ceremonies were three-time medallist Mikaël Kingsbury and two-time medallist Marielle Thompson. The ceremony featured performances from Mariah Carey, Laura Pausini, Andrea Bocelli, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Sabrina Impacciatore.
Team Canada won a total of 21 medals in seven sports at the 2026 Olympics, with five golds, seven silvers, and nine bronzes, placing them in 11th on the final medal table:
Freestyle Skiing → 2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
Short Track Speed Skating →1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
Speed Skating → 1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze
Curling → 1 gold, 1 bronze
Ice Hockey → 2 silvers
Snowboarding → 1 silver
Figure Skating → 1 bronze
75 athletes from Team Canada medalled in seven sports, with eight receiving multiple medals. MilanoCortina also marked the first medal for more than 40 Canadian Olympians.
There were several notable moments at this year’s Olympics for athletes from both Canada and other countries represented. Here are some highlights:
Two days after the opening ceremonies, Lindsey Vonn, an American skier who came out of retirement for this year’s competition, crashed during her run and had to be airlifted off the course. She had previously suffered a knee injury and decided to return in 2026 for her final Olympics.
Canadian skater Madeline Schizas went viral online for her assignment extension request from her McMaster University professor.
The Canadian men’s curling team had a controversial moment when Marc Kennedy was accused of a “double-touch,” with video evidence of the cheating.
Norwegian bronze medallist Sturla Holm Lægreid used his interview to confess that he had cheated on his girlfriend three months into their relationship and told her the week before the Games, stating how much he regretted it.
Team Canada ended the Olympics on a low note with both the women’s and men’s hockey teams losing their gold medal games 2-1 in overtime against the Americans. This marked the first Olympic gold medal for the U.S. men’s hockey team since 1980.
The MilanoCortina closing ceremony was held on February 22nd and saw performances from Achille Lauro, Benedetta Porcaroli, and Gabry Ponte. Team Canada’s flag-bearers for the ceremony were multi-medallists Valérie Maltais and Steven Dubois.
The MilanoCortina Olympics will now continue with the Paralympics, which will be held from March 6th to 15th and feature six sports.