Olympics – Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg pair Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov perform their short program in the senior pairs figure skating competition at the 2026 Canadian National Skating Championships in Gatineau, Que., on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Winnipeg pair fourth at Canadian figure skating championship

Laurie Nealin 5 minute read Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

Before the 2026 Canadian figure skating championships concluded on Sunday in Gatineau, Que., and Skate Canada announced its Olympic Winter Games team, Winnipeg pair skaters Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov were on the road back to their training base in Toronto.

With their satisfying fourth-place result on Saturday in the rear-view mirror, the duo turned their attention from their senior nationals debut to competing in their first ISU senior championship next week in China.

Kemp, 17, and Elizarov, 22, will squeeze in five days of training before flying to Beijing next Monday for Four Continents — a competition for top athletes from Asia, the Americas, Oceania and Africa.

China’s 2022 Olympic pair champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han are slated to compete in Beijing before making their second bid for Games gold in Milan-Cortina.

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Canadian sliders support coach’s decision that drew ire of other athletes, countries

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Canadian sliders support coach’s decision that drew ire of other athletes, countries

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:54 PM CST

CALGARY - Canadian skeleton racers Madeline Parra and Brielle Durham say they were comfortable with their coach's decision to pull them from a race in a move that's created friction between countries trying to qualify athletes for the Olympic Games.

Parra and Durham were among four Canadian women taken out of a North American Cup race Sunday in Lake Placid, N.Y., where sliders chased qualification for February's Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

The removal of four of Canada's six women from the field dropped the number of entries from 23 to 19.

That dropped the number of Olympic qualification points available to competitors, which drew the ire of U.S. veteran slider Katie Uhlaender trying to qualify for a sixth Olympic Games, and Denmark's bobsleigh and skeleton federation.

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:54 PM CST

Katie Uhlaender, of the United States, slides during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Tiger’s lost tooth in Cortina. Bode’s 1-ski show in Bormio. Olympic Alpine slopes filled with tales

Andrew Dampf And Pat Graham, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Tiger’s lost tooth in Cortina. Bode’s 1-ski show in Bormio. Olympic Alpine slopes filled with tales

Andrew Dampf And Pat Graham, The Associated Press 6 minute read 2:10 AM CST

Tiger Woods' tooth might still be buried at the bottom of the Cortina downhill course ever since a wild day — and a record-breaking run — more than a decade ago by his girlfriend at the time, Lindsey Vonn.

A decade earlier, and mountains away, Bode Miller turned in a famous performance on only one ski down the feared Stelvio course in Bormio.

These two courses contain so much history, tradition and tales as the Olympics return to iconic venues known well on Alpine skiing's World Cup circuit. Downhill racing at the last three Winter Games — Sochi in 2014, Pyeongchang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022 — were held at completely new sites.

Women’s skiing at the Games will be on the Olympia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, which has hosted the World Cup circuit’s signature races for decades. The Cortina course features a rhythmic track where racers can reach speeds hovering around 80 mph (130 km). Even James Bond made a famous trip down the slopes of Cortina when 007 out-skied villains in the 1981 movie “For Your Eyes Only.”

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2:10 AM CST

FILE - Bode Miller of the United States makes a turn on one ski during the Downhill portion of the Men's Combined at the World Alpine Ski Championships in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Diether Endlicher, File)

Olympic legends reunite in Los Angeles to kick off ticket registration for 2028 Games

Beth Harris, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Olympic legends reunite in Los Angeles to kick off ticket registration for 2028 Games

Beth Harris, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 10:21 PM CST

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nadia Comaneci, Apolo Ohno, Bart Conner and Cullen Jones were among the more than 300 Olympic and Paralympic athletes who gathered Tuesday under the peristyle at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the Summer Games will open in 2028.

In an effort to promote Wednesday's registration launch for tickets to the Los Angeles Games, the athletes representing 28 different Olympics dating to 1960 joined Janet Evans in a short countdown to the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron against a clear blue winter sky.

“LA is committed to delivering an athlete-centered games and that can only happen if athletes are actually at the center of our planning,” said Evans, the Olympic champion swimmer who is chief athlete officer for the LA28 organizing committee.

The get-together felt like a homecoming to Ohno, the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian ever with eight short track speedskating medals.

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Updated: Yesterday at 10:21 PM CST

The Olympic cauldron is lit at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ahead of the launch for ticket registration to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Latvia to make injury replacement for the Olympics with Eriks Mateiko out

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Latvia to make injury replacement for the Olympics with Eriks Mateiko out

The Associated Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 5:18 PM CST

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Latvia is the first team that will have to make an injury replacement for the men’s hockey tournament at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Forward Eriks Mateiko is out long term after undergoing surgery to repair his right Achilles tendon. Mateiko was sliced by an opponent’s skate blade Sunday while playing in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears, the top affiliate of the NHL's Washington Capitals.

Hershey announced that Mateiko would miss the remainder of the season because of the nature of the procedure. At 20 years old, Mateiko would have been among the youngest hockey players at the Games.

Mateiko was a third-round pick of the Capitals in the 2024 draft. He had six points in 27 games with the Bears before getting injured.

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Yesterday at 5:18 PM CST

FILE - Washington Capitals forward Eriks Mateiko (73) in action during the second period of an NHL preseason hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Oct. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

Chloe Kim says she’s ‘good to go’ for Olympics despite labrum tear in shoulder

Eddie Pells, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Chloe Kim says she’s ‘good to go’ for Olympics despite labrum tear in shoulder

Eddie Pells, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:52 PM CST

Snowboarder Chloe Kim says she's “good to go” for the Milan Cortina Olympics despite tearing the labrum in her shoulder during a training run last week in Switzerland.

Now comes a race against the clock to see if she can get ready for a contest that starts in less than a month.

The winner of the last two Olympic gold medals in the halfpipe posted an update to Instagram on Tuesday, saying she wasn't surprised to learn she had torn her labrum — the lining of the socket that holds the shoulder together. She did not say which shoulder she injured when she fell while getting ready for this weekend's Laax Open.

“There are two ways to do it, and the way I did it is less severe than the other, so I'm really happy about that,” she said. “Obviously, I’m really disappointed that I can’t snowboard until right before the Olympics, which is going to be hard. I haven’t gotten nearly the amount of reps that I would have liked, but that’s OK.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:52 PM CST

FILE - United States' Chloe Kim trains before the women's halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Feb. 10, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

Snowboarder Chloe Kim says she’s ‘good to go’ for Winter Olympics despite shoulder injury

The Associated Press 1 minute read Yesterday at 2:17 PM CST

LAAX, Switzerland (AP) — Snowboarder Chloe Kim says she's 'good to go' for Winter Olympics despite shoulder injury.

Ice dance champion Cizeron accuses ex-partner Papadakis of smear campaign ahead of Olympic Games

Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Ice dance champion Cizeron accuses ex-partner Papadakis of smear campaign ahead of Olympic Games

Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 10:00 AM CST

PARIS (AP) — Olympic ice dance champion Guillaume Cizeron said Tuesday that his former on-ice partner Gabriella Papadakis is spreading lies about him in the lead-up to the Milan Cortina Winter Games.

The French skater, who now competes with Laurence Fournier Beaudry, said he is the victim of a smear campaign fueled by a book written by Papadakis, “So as Not to Disappear,” that will be released later this week.

Papadakis and Cizeron became one of the most decorated duos in the history of ice dance before they announced the end of their sporting partnership in December 2024. During their glittering career, they were credited with some of the most innovative and clinical sequences to music that figure skating has seen.

They broke their own world record in claiming gold at the Beijing Games and also won an Olympic silver medal, five world championships and five European Championships. The pair won the Grand Prix Final twice.

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Updated: Yesterday at 10:00 AM CST

FILE - Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France celebrate their gold medal during the Ice Dance victory ceremony at the Figure Skating World Championships in Montpellier, south of France, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, file)

Jim Hartung, who helped lead U.S. men’s gymnastics team to 1984 Olympic gold, dies at 65

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Jim Hartung, who helped lead U.S. men’s gymnastics team to 1984 Olympic gold, dies at 65

The Associated Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 7:58 AM CST

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Jim Hartung, a two-time Olympian who helped lead the 1984 U.S. team to its first and only gold medal in men's gymnastics, has died. He was 65.

The University of Nebraska announced Hartung died Saturday night. He had been a Cornhuskers assistant coach for 19 years. No cause of death was given.

“Our condolences go out to Jim’s family, friends, and everyone he has impacted during his remarkable life in gymnastics from a national champion athlete at Nebraska to an Olympic gold medalist to a successful coach," the athletic department said in a statement. "Jim is a true Husker legend and his impact on the sport of gymnastics will carry on for decades to come. Our department will provide all available resources and support for our men’s gymnastics student-athletes and coaching staff during this very difficult time.”

Hartung was a member of the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games. In 1984 in Los Angeles he teamed with Bart Conner, Tim Daggett, Mitch Gaylord, Scott Johnson and Peter Vidmar to win the team gold and he also made the individual finals on the vault.

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Yesterday at 7:58 AM CST

FILE - Members of the U.S. gymnastics team, from left: Bart Conner, Peter Vidmar, Jim Hartung, Mitch Gaylord, Scott Johnson and Tim Daggett, celebrate their gold medals as they stand on the winners' platform July 31, 1984 after they defeated world champion China to win the first U.S. gold medal in gymnastics in 80 years. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, file)

How will climate change reshape the Winter Olympics? The list of possible host sites is shrinking

Jennifer Mcdermott And Pat Graham, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

How will climate change reshape the Winter Olympics? The list of possible host sites is shrinking

Jennifer Mcdermott And Pat Graham, The Associated Press 7 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:24 PM CST

Belgian biathlete Maya Cloetens can’t help but think about the future of winter sports as she trains for next month's Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

Evidence of climate change is all around her in the mountains above Grenoble, France, where the 24-year-old fell in love with the sport that combines cross-country skiing and shooting.

Grenoble hosted the 1968 Winter Olympics, but its winters are shorter and milder nowadays, and with less consistent heavy snowfall. When the games return to the French Alps in 2030, Grenoble won't be the focal point.

“I grew up there, and I really see the difference of snow,” Cloetens said. “In 15 years, it has completely changed.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:24 PM CST

FILE - Olympic rings are displayed near a slope of the Stelvio Ski Center, venue for the alpine ski and ski mountaineering disciplines, at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Two more Russian athletes approved for Milan Cortina Olympics with neutral status

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Two more Russian athletes approved for Milan Cortina Olympics with neutral status

The Associated Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 2:35 AM CST

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Two more Russian athletes were approved by the International Olympic Committee to compete at the Milan Cortina Winter Games next month with neutral status.

The total is now five athletes with Russian passports and one from Belarus confirmed by the IOC as eligible for the Olympics that open Feb. 6. They will not have their national identity of team colors, flag or anthem and cannot take part in the opening ceremony athlete parades.

Short-track speed skaters Ivan Posashkov and Alena Krylova joined the list updated by the IOC late Monday.

The 21-year-old Posashkov competes in the men’s 1,000-meter event and the 23-year-old Krylova in the women’s 500 meters.

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Yesterday at 2:35 AM CST

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

USA Luge gets 11 athletes into Milan Cortina Olympics, 1 shy of maximum. Russia will get 2 spots

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

USA Luge gets 11 athletes into Milan Cortina Olympics, 1 shy of maximum. Russia will get 2 spots

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press 5 minute read Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

A pair of Russian luge athletes were confirmed Monday as qualifiers for next month's Milan Cortina Olympics, meaning they will compete against Ukrainian sliders on the sport's biggest stage.

The International Luge Federation — which announced the 78 singles and doubles sleds that have qualified for the games — included Russian men's singles slider Roman Repilov and women's singles slider Daria Olesik on its preliminary list.

They will compete, just as they did in World Cup races that they were allowed to enter this season, as neutral athletes at the Olympics as part of the sanctions against Russian federations in response to that country's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the war that has continued since.

Germany and Austria qualified the maximum of 12 athlete spots and nine sleds for the Olympics. Host Italy and the U.S. each had 11 athletes and eight sleds qualify, while Ukraine and Latvia each had 10 sliders and seven sleds make the Olympic fields.

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Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

The Italian relay team with Verena Hofer, Ivan Nagler, Fabian Malleier, Dominik Fischnaller, Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer celebrate their third place at the mixed relay competition of the Luge World Cup in Winterberg, Germany, Sunday Jan. 11, 2026. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)

Canada’s skeleton team denies accusations of Olympic sabotage by U.S. slider

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Canada’s skeleton team denies accusations of Olympic sabotage by U.S. slider

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

CALGARY - Canada's skeleton team denied accusations by American Katie Uhlaender that Canada's coach sabotaged her chances of sliding in the Olympic Games, while the world governing body of the sport has ordered an investigation.

Athletes from all countries are chasing the last qualification points for the Milan Cortina Games. Qualification ends Sunday.

At a North American Cup race, which is a developmental event below the World Cup level, Canada withdrew four of six women Sunday in Lake Placid, N.Y.

The smaller field reduced the number of Olympic qualification points available in the competition, which Uhlaender won.

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Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

Crans-Montana set to host Olympic ski races in Switzerland bid for 2038 Winter Games

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Crans-Montana set to host Olympic ski races in Switzerland bid for 2038 Winter Games

The Associated Press 3 minute read Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Crans-Montana is set to host Alpine ski races at the 2038 Olympics as organizers of the Switzerland bid detailed their plan of venues Monday.

The Swiss Olympic body is the only candidate in talks with the International Olympic Committee to be awarded the Winter Games taking place in 12 years’ time. It would be the first Winter Games in Switzerland since the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics.

Crans-Montana is among established venues for World Cup races and competitions in winter sports that will be used in an Olympic project spread across the country, seeking to avoid taxpayer spending on construction.

The ski resort was the scene of a fatal bar fire on New Year’s Day that united Switzerland in national mourning.

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Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

People light candles to express their compassion and solidarity to the victims of the deadly fire in a bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, during a vigil in Kocani, North Macedonia, on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Canadian ice master makes Olympic history with the Games’ 1st indoor temporary speedskating rink

Colleen Barry, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Canadian ice master makes Olympic history with the Games’ 1st indoor temporary speedskating rink

Colleen Barry, The Associated Press 5 minute read Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

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Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

Gilles, Poirier lead Canada’s figure skating team into Milan Cortina Olympics

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Gilles, Poirier lead Canada’s figure skating team into Milan Cortina Olympics

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

GATINEAU - Ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will lead the Canadian Olympic figure skating team into the Milan Cortina Winter Games in February, carrying the country’s hopes of ending a medal drought.

Gilles and Poirier, silver medallists at the world championships in each of the past two seasons, will chase their first Olympic medal when competition begins at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

The five-time Canadian champions head to their third Games as a duo in what is likely the final season of their careers.

"It feels like the cherry on top of our career,” said the 33-year-old Gilles, who thought the 2022 Beijing Games could have been their last. “We went year by year and it was like, ‘Can you do another year? Can you do another year?’

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Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

January 14, 2026

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