Five things to watch at the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday, Feb. 8

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This article was published 07/02/2026 (241 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MILAN – From the first trip to the podium for figure skaters to crunch time for Canada’s mixed doubles curlers, here are five things to look out for at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday, Feb. 8:

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CURLING CRUNCH

Canada’s Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman are in must-win territory as they take on Sweden and South Korea in mixed doubles curling. The husband-and-wife team from Chestermere, Alta., have lost three in a row to sit at 3-3 following a pair of losses Saturday — 7-5 to tournament-leading Britain and 8-6 to heavy underdog Estonia. The losses left Canada tied for fifth in the standings, with the top four advancing to the medal round. Peterman and Gallant are running out of room to make up ground with just three preliminary-round games left.

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FIGURING IT OUT

The first figure skating medals of the Games will be handed out after the final three events of the team competition. Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., and Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., compete in the free pairs, Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., skates in the women’s free program, and Stephen Gogolev of Toronto is in the event-capping men’s free skate. Canada finished fourth in the event at the 2022 Beijing Games.

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I WOULD SKATE 5,000 METRES

Speedskating action continues in Milan with the men’s 5,000 metres. The first men’s endurance speedskating event of the Games is sure to put athletes to the test as they complete 12 1/2 laps of the 400-metre oval at the Speed Skating Stadium in Rho, northwest of Milan. Ted-Jan Bloemen is Canada’s skater to watch in the event. He won silver in the 5,000 at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

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BUCK ON THE BOARD

Kaylie Buck of Oakville, Ont., returns to the site of her first World Cup medal when the parallel slalom snowboard events kick off with qualifying. Buck won silver in December at a World Cup event at the Olympic venue in Livigno. Arnaud Gaudet of Montcalm, Que., is in the men’s event. He is coming off a silver at a World Cup event last month in Bulgaria.

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A LEGEND RETURNS

American skiing legend Lindsey Vonn is set to compete in the women’s downhill in Cortina a little more than a week after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. The 41-year-old finished Saturday’s training in third position, 0.37 seconds behind leader and teammate Breezy Johnson. Vonn, who holds the record of 12 World Cup wins in Cortina, returned to ski racing last season after nearly six years of retirement.

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

This is a corrected story. An earlier version had the wrong venue for snowboarding.

Note to readers:This is a corrected story. An earlier version had the wrong venue for snowboarding.