Canada is officially on the board after the first full day of action at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
The first medal of the Milano Cortina 2026 for Canada came courtesy of speed skater Valérie Maltais and it was a significant one for the Quebec native racing in her fifth Games.
Maltais’ bronze in the Saturday’s 3000m race was the 35-year-old's first ever individual medal at the Olympics, adding to a silver at Sochi 2014 and a gold at Beijing 2022 that she won in team events.
Valérie Maltais is off to a strong start ✨
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) February 7, 2026
Valérie's FIRST INDIVIDUAL Olympic medal is Team Canada’s first medal of Milano Cortina 2026 ❤️
She captured bronze in the women’s 3000 m long track speed skating! 🥉 pic.twitter.com/16KfNhXsQA
Other notable finishes for individual Canadian athletes on Saturday included Francis Jobin in men’s big air (7th), Jack Crawford in men’s downhill (9th) and Abigail Strate in women’s ski jump (11th).
On the team side, the Canadian women’s hockey team finally got their Olympics started after their opener was postponed due to an outbreak of norovirus among the Finnish team. Canada outshot Switzerland 55-6 on Saturday and exploded for three goals in the final 20 minutes to win 4-0.
In mixed doubles curling, Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant struggled on Saturday with their second and third straight losses. However, they remain firmly in the mix with a 3-3 record.
Sunday’s action at the Olympics will include medal events in women’s downhill skiing, parallel giant slalom snowboarding, men’s luge and men’s speed skating.
