Canada is still searching for its first gold medal of Milano Cortina 2026 and another prime opportunity to get one slipped away on Saturday.
After a heartbreaking loss in the men’s 1000m short track speed skating on Thursday, William Dandjinou was the favourite heading into the 1500m event on Saturday. And just like he did 48 hours earlier, Dandjinou cruised through the quarterfinal and semifinal.
Unfortunately, it was another difficult final race for the 24-year-old and he slid out of contention in the final laps, ending up off the podium in fifth place. Teammate Steven Dubois was also in the final, but a fall took him out of contention early in the race.
Canada did add another medal in speed skating on Saturday, however, as Laurent Dubreuil claimed bronze in the men’s 500m long track speed skating event. It was a sweet moment for the 33-year-old after finishing 0.03 seconds off the podium at Beijing 2022.
Laurent Dubreuil shines at his third Olympic Games! ✨
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) February 14, 2026
He claims his second Olympic medal and his first in the 500 m long track speed skating 🥉👏 pic.twitter.com/FBwzvcvpAP
On the women’s side, Courtney Sarault, Kim Boutin and Florence Brunelle all moved on to the 1000m quarterfinals, while also advancing as a team into the 3000m relay final on Wednesday.
It was a disappointing day of curling for Canada after a bit of a controversial day on Friday. Saturday’s action saw Rachel Homan’s rink lose twice to fall to 1-3. They’ll likely need to win out to advance to the medal round. Brad Jacobs’ rink fell to Switzerland, but are still in good shape with a 3-1 record.
In other team action, Marie-Philip Poulin returned for Canada to lead the group in a convincing win over Germany in the quarterfinal. They’ll take on Switzerland in Monday’s semi. The men finish their round robin against France on Sunday and are likely to claim top spot in the round robin with a win.
Still without a gold medal in these Games, Canada’s flagbearer Mikaël Kingsbury has a chance to bump the slump in the men’s freestyle ski dual moguls on Sunday. There are even more gold medal opportunities coming on Monday, which includes Megan Oldham in the women’s freestyle ski big air competition following her top finish in Saturday’s qualifying run.
