LIVIGNO – A skiing journey that began famously being towed behind a snowmobile as a child on Christopher Lake in Saskatchewan, took Maia Schwinghammer to a fifth-place finish in the moguls at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old from Saskatoon earned a score of 77.61, just 0.39 off the podium.

“I know I have more to give, so it’s a little bittersweet, being points-wise so close to the podium,” said Schwinghammer. “I knew I made a couple of mistakes in my run. So there’s that. It’s always tough when you know you can do better. But fifth at the Olympic Games … I’m so proud of the way I was able to handle the nerves.”

American Elizabeth Lemley won the gold with a storming run, awarded a score of 82.30 at Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park. Australia’s Jakara Anthony, the last competitor, had a chance to catch her and become the first woman to defend an Olympic moguls title, but lost an edge and skied off the top of the course, finishing eighth at 60.81.

American Jaelin Kauf won silver for the second games in a row with a score of 80.77, ahead of France’s Perrine Laffont, the 2018 champion in Pyeongchang at 78.00.

Japan’s Hinako Tomitaka also scored 78.00 but lost the bronze to Laffont on the turns score tiebreaker and finished fourth.

Schwinghammer learned to ski at Mount Blackstrap, a modest ski hill just south of Saskatoon, then managed by her parents that offered just 45 metres of elevation, one chairlift and one T-bar.

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That’s where she fell in love with the sport.

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Reminded of such humble beginnings Wednesday, Schwinghammer smiled.

“The little girl in me is screaming,” she said.

Her father, Rick, a former freestyle skier himself, was a freestyle ski official at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, and an eight-year-old Maia got to watch the moguls.

“Jennifer Heil was always a huge inspiration to me … I remember watching her get the silver medal and just knowing that I had to go become an Olympian one day,” she recalled in a media availability before the games.

That eventually led to a spot in the national team in 2018 at age 16. Heil, meanwhile, is the Canadian chef de mission in Milan Cortina.

Rick Schwinghammer went viral during the games as a proud dad for a tearful on-the street interview.

Canadian moguls coach Michel Hamelin said both he and Schwinghammer were surprised that the Canadian’s score wasn’t higher. He pointed to the top of the course, where skiers go off the first jump into a long stretch of moguls.

“If you do that super-smooth, it creates magic, and everyone is like ‘Whoa, OK, that’s amazing. And she actually landed and did a little slide. You see some snow, and that’s one thing the judges don’t like,” he explained.

“I think it’s around that that we lost a little bit and it cost us the (podium).”

In contrast, Lemley’s run was a blockbuster.

“One of the most beautiful moguls skiing runs I’ve seen to this date in this sport,” said Schwinghammer.

“She destroyed the course,” added Hamelin.

Schwinghammer, who just missed out on making the Beijing Olympics, enjoyed a banner 2024-25 season.

She was a bronze medallist at the 2025 FIS World Championships and finished third in the FIS World Cup moguls standings and fourth in the combined moguls/dual moguls standings. She earned three World Cup moguls podiums, including her first career World Cup win at Val St-Côme, Que., in January 2025.

But this season has proved to be more challenging with Schwinghammer citing injuries and a lack of confidence.

“I have to say this week has been the most fun I’ve had all year skiing. I can’t wait to bring that energy into dual (moguls), to take some confidence from today,” she said.

Dual moguls, which sees athletes compete head-to-head on parallel courses in a bracket-style format, makes its Olympic debut Saturday.

Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert of Sainte-Adele, Que., finished 12th while Ashley Koehler of Lac-Beauport, Que., was 16th and Vancouver’s Jessica Linton 19th.

All four Canadian women were making their Olympic debut.

The Olympic moguls format is slightly different from that of World Cups.

The top 10 from the first qualifying round progress directly to the final round at the games. The rest get a second chance via a second round of qualifying, with 10 more advancing. The top eight competitors after the final then go after the medals in the super-final.

On Thursday, Canadian moguls star Mikael Kingsbury looks to make history by becoming the first to win medals in the same freestyle skiing event at four straight Olympics.

The 33-year-old from Deux-Montagnes, Que., who already has a gold medal from 2018 and a pair of silver medals from 2014 and 2022, qualified third Tuesday behind teammate Julien Viel and Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, who topped the 30-man field.

Elliot Vaillancourt of Drummondville, Que., was 16th in the first round of qualifying and will look to join his teammates in the second round of qualifying Thursday before the final.

In moguls, competitors race down a steep, heavily mogulled course featuring two jumps. Each run is judged on three elements: technical turns (worth 60 per cent), aerial manoeuvres (20 per cent) and speed (20 per cent).

Canada has won 11 moguls medals at the Olympics (six gold and five silver).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026

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MILAN – From Canada’s short-track speedskating silver to Canada’s loss to the U.S. in women’s hockey, here are five things to know from Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games:

SILVER SKATERS

Short-track speedskating star William Dandjinou is making his Olympic debut in Italy. So is teammate Félix Roussel. The rookies joined forces with veterans Kim Boutin and Courtney Sarault to lead Canada to a sliver medal in the mixed team relay, behind host Italy and in front of Belgium. It’s the first Olympic medal for Dandjinou, Roussel and Sarault, and the fifth for Boutin. And the team is expecting more, as Dandjinou and Roussel won their men’s 1,000-metre heats, while Sarault and Boutin won their heats in the women’s 500 metres.

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DEFENDING CHAMPS FALL

Canada’s struggles against the United States in women’s hockey continued with a 5-0 loss in Group A play. The Canadians, without injured captain Marie-Philip Poulin, only mustered up 20 shots on goal and were overwhelmed by the Americans. The U.S. outscored Canada 24-7 in a four-game sweep of their Rivalry Series late in 2025. The Americans finished atop Group A, going undefeated in four games, while Canada closes preliminary-round play against Finland on Thursday.

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OLYMPIC DREAM REVIVED

It looks like figure skaters Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are going to have their Olympic moment after all. Skate Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee confirmed that the 2024 world champions are cleared to take part in the pairs competition that starts Sunday. The duo missed the team competition earlier in the Games after Stellato-Dudek hit her head and sustained an injury while training outside Montreal. Stellato-Dudek, who is making her Olympic debut at 42, is poised to become the oldest female figure skater in nearly a century to compete at the Olympics.

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GOGOLEV IN TOP 10

Canadian figure skater Stephen Gogolev sits in 10th place after the men’s short program. The 21-year-old from Toronto landed two quad jumps to score 87.41 points in his routine to “Mugzy’s Move” by Royal Crown Revue, in which he portrays a 1920s Prohibition-era gangster. He finished the program despite having one of his boot laces shake loose midway through the skate. The free program takes place Friday to decide the medals.

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SHIFFRIN STILL STRUGGLING

There is no one touching American skier Mikaela Shiffrin on the World Cup circuit. But lately, the Olympics have been a different story. Shiffrin extended her streak of Olympic races without a medal to seven when she and teammate Breezy Johnson finished fourth in the team combined event. Johnson handed Shiffrin a slim lead after the downhill portion, but the most successful World Cup racer of all time with a record 108 victories couldn’t make it stand up in the slalom. After taking two golds and silver from her first two Olympics, Shiffrin didn’t win a medal in any of her six races at the 2022 Beijing Games.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2026.

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MILAN – An injured Marie-Philip Poulin gave her Canadian teammates some hope in Monday’s 5-1 win over Czechia in Olympic women’s hockey.

Canada’s captain, who left the game midway through the first period, eventually returned to the bench that period to support her teammates, and took a few spins on the ice at the first-period buzzer.

But Poulin didn’t return to the game after that. Her status for Tuesday’s game against archrival United States less than 24 hours later was uncertain.

“There’s a lot of concern when anybody leaves the ice, but especially her,” said Canadian defender Jocelyne Larocque.

“She did try to come back and I think that’s a good sign. That, to me, shows it’s not extremely serious. It’s obviously concerning because she’s not only the best player, but the best leader.”

Poulin left the game midway through the first period after a hard check when Canada led 1-0.

She appeared to favour her right leg while skating to the bench after she was hit into the boards by Kristyna Kaltounkova at 10:52.

Poulin returned to the ice with Canada’s second power-play unit while Kaltounkova served the penalty.

But the captain left the offensive zone mid-shift and headed for the bench again, and then the dressing room.

Canada’s head coach Troy Ryan didn’t have an update on the captain immediately after Monday’s game, but acknowledged the uplift on the team and on him of her returning to the bench and trying to skate.

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“It felt optimistic,” he stated. “Pou came back just to be with the group, probably to ease their minds a little bit.

“She’s so reliable, so valuable, she’s the heart and soul of this group. If she’s there, she’ll continue to be the heart and soul of this group and if she’s not there, she’ll continue to be its heart and soul.”

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Poulin’s teammates didn’t break stride after their captain was injured. The Canadians scored three more times before the first period ended and chased Czech starter Julie Pejsova from the game.

“You never like to see that, especially to someone like that, our leader, our rock,” said Laura Stacey, who is Poulin’s linemate and off-ice wife.

“It hurts and I think our bench did feel that a little bit. We all looked at each other, we all felt it. She’s picked us up so many times, she’s led the way and it was our turn to pick her up.

“It was our turn to support her and do whatever we could to get that win for her, but also for ourselves as a group.”

Poulin has scored the most career goals of any active player in the Olympic women’s hockey tournament with 17, including seven spread across four Olympic finals. Her former teammate Hayley Wickenheiser holds the record with 18.

Julia Gosling produced a pair of power-play goals for Canada (2-0-0-0).

The U.S. led Group A at 3-0-0-0 after Monday’s 5-0 win over Switzerland (0-1-0-2).

Kristin O’Neill, Sarah Fillier and Stacey also scored for Canada with Ann-Renée Desbiens stopping 18 of 19 shots for the win. Brianne Jenner had a pair of assists.

Kaltounkova, the PWHL’s leading scorer with 11 goals for the New York Sirens, took two of the Czechs’ three illegal-hit penalties in the first two periods.

Canada’s power play went 2-for-4 in the game and 5-for-9 to start the tournament after a 4-0 opening win over Switzerland.

Natalie Mlynkova scored a power-play goal for the Czechs at 8:38 of the third period.

Pejsova was pulled after three goals on 11 shots at 13:51 of the first period. Michaela Hesova made 21 saves in relief.

The Czechs led all European countries in Professional Women’s Hockey League content with eight players.

Head coach Carla MacLeod, a two-time Olympic gold medallist for Canada, coaches the Czechs and the PWHL’s Ottawa Charge.

All 23 Canadians play in that league, in which body-checking is allowed in certain situations.

The International Ice Hockey Federation has adopted the same body-checking policy. Both teams tested the standard Monday with hard hits.

“Our physical game is a little smarter and I think it worked out for us,” said Gosling. “We don’t know the line yet because some things are let go and some things aren’t.

“We are figuring that out a bit better now. The Czechs, a few of their hits were a little dirtier. We’re playing a little bit more of that clean physical play.”

Canada and Finland (0-0-0-2) will be the last countries to complete their preliminary-round schedule Thursday. Their opener on Feb. 5 was postponed because of multiple cases of the norovirus among the Finns.

All five Group A countries and the top three in Group B advance to the quarterfinals Friday and Saturday. Canada’s quarterfinal will be Saturday.

In Group B, host Italy (2-0-0-1) was a 3-2 winner over Japan (1-0-0-2). Germany (1-1-0-1) beat France (0-0-1-3) in overtime 2-1.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2026.

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MILAN – From Canada’s first medal to an opening win in women’s hockey, here are five things to know from Saturday, Feb. 7 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games:

VETERAN VALÉRIE

Valérie Maltais won her first national title in 2009, and has enjoyed a highly decorated career as both a short-track and ling-track speedskater since. On Saturday, the 35-year-old from La Baie, Que., reached another career milestone with her first-ever individual medal, and Canada’s first medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Skating in a pairing with eventual gold medallist Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy, Maltais put down a time of three minutes 56.93 seconds that kept her on the podium even with two pairs of skaters to go. Maltais has a gold and a silver in team events from previous Olympics.

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CANADA BLANKS SWITZERLAND

Canada bested Switzerland 4-0 win in women’s hockey preliminary play Saturday, as the Canadians began their push to claim a second consecutive gold medal. Sarah Fillier, Natalie Spooner and Julia Gosling scored power-play goals and Darryl Watts struck even strength for the defending champions, while defender Claire Thompson had a pair of assists. Saturday’s game at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena came after the entire Swiss team spent Friday night in isolation and skipped the opening ceremony after a player tested positive for norovirus, but was later cleared to play.

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DEBUTING WITH A PERSONAL BEST

Canada is heading into the figure skating team event finals after Toronto’s Stephen Gogolev finished third in the men’s short program in his Olympic debut. The 21-year-old marked his performance with a personal-best score of 92.99. Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha later took the ice in the free dance, scoring 120.90 to land them third place. Canada remains in fourth place overall with 35 points as it enters the final skates, trailing the United States (44), Japan (39) and Italy (37).

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TRICOLOR TRIUMPH

The hosts had a successful Day 1 at the Games, led by Lollobrigida’s win in the women’s 3,000-metre speedskating race. Skating in a blistering pairing with Maltais, Lollobrigida won in an Olympic-record time of 3:54.28 on her 35th birthday. Earlier, Giovanni Franzoni took silver in the men’s downhill ahead of Italian teammate Dominik Paris for bronze. Paris, 36, won his first Olympic medal in his fifth Games.

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IMPRESSIVE DEBUT

The first medal of the Milan Cortina Games went to Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen, who raced to victory in the men’s downhill. Von Allmen powered through the challenging Stelvio course in Bormio in 1:51.61 to win in his Olympic debut. It was a disappointing day for Canadian racers, with James (Jack) Crawford the top Canadian in ninth.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2026.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press