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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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 Yesterday at 11:08 AM CST

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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Yesterday at 11:08 AM CST

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 Updated: Yesterday at 5:03 PM CST

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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Updated: Yesterday at 5:03 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)

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 Yesterday at 5:12 AM CST

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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Yesterday at 5:12 AM CST

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 Updated: Yesterday at 1:50 PM CST

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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Updated: Yesterday at 1:50 PM 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)

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

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier perform their free dance in the ice dance figure skating competition at the 2026 Canadian National Skating Championships in Gatineau, Que., on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

World champ Malinin leads one of the strongest US Figure Skating teams ever into Winter Olympics

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

World champ Malinin leads one of the strongest US Figure Skating teams ever into Winter Olympics

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press 5 minute read Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

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Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Humphries Armbruster wins World Cup bobsled race, while Forgan and Kirkby lock up Olympic luge spot

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Humphries Armbruster wins World Cup bobsled race, while Forgan and Kirkby lock up Olympic luge spot

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

Veteran U.S. pilot Kaillie Humphries Armbruster got her second two-woman World Cup bobsled win of the season Sunday, shortly before German star Francesco Friedrich's streak of 48 consecutive medal-winning finishes on the circuit came to an end.

Humphries Armbruster, a native of Calgary, teamed with Jasmine Jones to win by the slimmest of margins in bobsled — one one-hundredth of a second. They finished two runs at St. Moritz, Switzerland, in two minutes 18.40 seconds, while the Swiss team of Melanie Hasler and Nadja Pasternack was second in 2:18.41.

Laura Nolte and Leonie Kluwig of Germany were third in 2:18.43. The 0.03-second margin between the three medal-winning sleds was the closest in a World Cup race since 0.02 seconds separated the top three finishers in a two-man race at Whistler, Canada, on Jan. 23, 2016.

It was the 32nd World Cup win for Humphries Armbruster and the first for Jones.

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Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

IOC happy as new Milan Cortina hockey arena almost ready to welcome NHL players

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

IOC happy as new Milan Cortina hockey arena almost ready to welcome NHL players

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

MILAN (AP) — The International Olympic Committee says it's impressed with the new hockey arena for the Milan Cortina Games, even if parts of it still look like a building site.

The Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena will be one of the focal points of the games next month with NHL players returning to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade.

However, the venue has also been the focal point of the buildup with construction delays and other matters causing concern.

It is finally ready — or at least almost.

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Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

An outside view of the Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena, in Milan, where Ice Hockey discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Guard at Winter Olympic construction site dies in nighttime subfreezing temperatures

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Guard at Winter Olympic construction site dies in nighttime subfreezing temperatures

The Associated Press 2 minute read Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

MILAN (AP) — A guard at a construction site near a 2026 Winter Olympic venue in the mountain resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo died during a frigid overnight shift, authorities confirmed on Saturday.

Italy’s Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini called for a full investigation into the circumstances of the 55-year-old worker’s death.

Italian media reported that the death occurred on Thursday while the worker was on duty at a construction site near Cortina’s ice arena. Temperatures that night plunged to minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Milan Cortina organizers said that the worker died of a heart attack.

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Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

FILE - People take photos in front of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics rings, in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

Andrea Bocelli will headline the Milan Cortina Winter Olympic opening ceremony

Colleen Barry, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Andrea Bocelli will headline the Milan Cortina Winter Olympic opening ceremony

Colleen Barry, The Associated Press 3 minute read Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

MILAN (AP) — Crossover tenor Andrea Bocelli will be among the headline performers for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 6, joining the previously announced pop diva Mariah Carey, organizers said Sunday.

The opening ceremony will be centered in Milan’s landmark San Siro soccer stadium, featuring the Parade of Athletes and entertainment over the course of the three-hour spectacle that is expected to be the most widely viewed moment of the Games.

Reflecting the Milan Cortina Games' status as the most spread-out Olympics in history, elements of the opening ceremony will also be conducted in three other locations, allowing athletes from all far-flung disciplines to participate. Moments will be beamed to the televised audience from Cortina in the heart of the Dolomite mountains, Livigno in the Italian Alps as well as Predazzo in the autonomous province of Trento.

The ceremony will also include a tribute to the late Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died in September at the age of 91. Armani has long designed the Italian team’s Olympic uniforms, and his legacy as one of the founders of Italian ready-to-wear is tightly tied to Milan, where he left his mark with the Armani theater, Silos museum and sponsorship of the EA7 Emporio Armani Milano basketball team.

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Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

FILE - Singer Andrea Bocelli performs during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Milan’s Catholic archdiocese brings Olympic values into parish life

María Teresa Hernández, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Milan’s Catholic archdiocese brings Olympic values into parish life

María Teresa Hernández, The Associated Press 5 minute read Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

Milan’s Catholic leaders faced a choice when the city was selected to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.

They could passively wait for the event to unfold or immediately bring the Olympic spirit into their pastoral work. They chose the latter.

“We believe that the Olympics represent a great educational opportunity in the meanings they will carry,” wrote Milan’s Archbishop Mario Delpini in a letter following the launch of a program aimed at promoting Olympic values among young people.

The Ora Sport on Fire Tour has been underway since late 2022, with new activities led by the archdiocese planned during the Games.

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Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

FILE - The pinnacles of the Duomo cathedral are lit by the afternoon declining sun and backdropped by the new Business Center in Milan, northern Italy, Jan. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Fischnaller, Greiner move closer to officially locking up US Olympic luge berths

The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Fischnaller, Greiner move closer to officially locking up US Olympic luge berths

The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

WINTERBERG, Germany (AP) — USA Luge is likely sending three women and two men to the singles races at next month's Milan Cortina Olympics, after Emily Fischnaller and Matthew Greiner appeared to clinch spots with their World Cup finishes on Saturday.

The International Luge Federation has not officially told national teams yet how many spots they have earned in the Milan Cortina fields, but the expectation — after Saturday's fifth and final singles Olympic qualifier of the season — is that it'll be Summer Britcher, Ashley Farquharson and Fischnaller on the U.S. women's team, with Jonny Gustafson and Greiner on the U.S. men's team.

USA Luge plans to announce its Olympic nominations on Monday.

Austria’s Hannah Prock won the women’s World Cup race Saturday, with Germany’s Julia Taubitz second and Italy’s Verena Hofer third. Lisa Schulte of Austria was fourth, one spot ahead of Britcher — who is now third in the World Cup seasonlong standings.

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Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

Runner-up Julia Taubitz, of Germany, from left, winner Hannah Prock, of Austria, and third-placed Verena Hofer, of Italy, celebrate on the podium following the Luge Women World Cup, single-seater, 2nd run in Winterberg, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)

‘Team Avalanche’ unites cross-country skiing Olympic hopefuls from small countries

Ken Maguire, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

‘Team Avalanche’ unites cross-country skiing Olympic hopefuls from small countries

Ken Maguire, The Associated Press 6 minute read Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

Indian skier Bhavani Thekkada's lower leg was a mess at a race weekend in Finland — think blisters and blood. She turned to “Team Avalanche” on WhatsApp in search of ointments.

“I couldn’t find anything in the shop, so I just put a message in the group and there was this guy who said, ‘Hey I’m in Ruka, I have antibiotic ointment with me,'" Thekkada explained. "Then he comes and gives me the medicine. That’s really nice.”

The WhatsApp group with the catchy name is comprised of cross-country skiers who spent the past year or so trying to qualify for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. They’re from non-traditional winter sports countries and mostly operate independently, so having a community to lean on can be helpful.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Nick Lau started it as a forum “for random tips and advice” for all the “small nation” athletes he kept meeting at ski races.

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Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

FILE - Matthew Smith, of South Africa, competes in the cross-country men's 7.5 km Interval Start Classic qualification race at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

The unsung playmakers of Olympic hockey magic

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Preview

The unsung playmakers of Olympic hockey magic

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

As the country’s top hockey talents celebrated their selection to the Canadian men’s national team that will play at next month’s Olympic Games in Milan, a pair of Manitobans knew their spots with the team were already secure.

Darren Granger and Kurt Keats aren’t household names like the players and coaches who make up Team Canada: Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Josh Morrissey, or head coach Jon Cooper, to name a few.

That’s because Granger and Keats’ work is done away from the cameras and the spotlight, in locker rooms and offices. Make no mistake, though, they have become equally important to Team Canada’s quest for gold.

Granger is the team’s head equipment manager, while Keats is one of two managers of hockey operations.

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Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

Colin Corneau / BRANDON SUN FILES
Brandon native Darren Granger, along with his son Chase, carries the Stanley Cup into the Wheat Kings Hockey School barbeque back in 2014. The Los Angeles Kings equipment manager had the Cup for the day and let the locals have a look.

Pair of Manitobans named to women’s Olympic hockey roster

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Preview

Pair of Manitobans named to women’s Olympic hockey roster

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

A pair of Manitobans are heading to the Winter Olympics as members of the Canadian women’s hockey team.

Ste. Anne’s Jocelyne Larocque and Winnipegger Kati Tabin were included in the 23-person roster announced on Friday afternoon. Canada will look to repeat as gold medallists when the 10-nation tournament gets underway in Milan Feb. 5.

This will be the fourth straight Games for the 37-year-old Larocque, who currently patrols the blue line for the Ottawa Charge of the PWHL. She has gold medals from Beijing (2022) and Sochi (2014) and a silver from Pyeongchang (2018).

Tabin, 28, gets to compete on the biggest stage in sports for the first time. She is in her third season of playing defence with the Montreal Victoire of the PWHL.

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Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

January 13, 2026

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