Canada’s Search for Gold
Recap of the 2026 Winter Olympics so far
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan have already given us some iconic moments such as the phenomenon of the American women’s ice skating trio dubbed the “Blade Angels,” winning gold medals in multiple skating events and Eileen Gu becoming the most decorated women’s freestyle skier in history. However, as of writing, Canada has won just 4 gold medals in this winter Olympics thus far. A shocking statistic considering Canada is one of three nations to ever win 14 or more Gold medals in a single winter Olympics, a feat achieved in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Canada’s journey
So far Canada has amassed 15 medals in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics with 6 bronze, 5 silver and 4 gold medals. Norway is leading the charge with 17 golds and a total of 36 medals. Canada’s silver medals came from Snowboarding, Short track, Freestyle Skiing, and Ice Hockey. The 4 Gold medals came from Freestyle Skiing, Short Track and Speed Skating.
Mikael Kingsbury’s winning silver in Men’s Freestyle Skiing l was notable given how close it was to being gold. In fact, the scores were tied at 83.17 points but Australian Cooper Woods got the gold medal in the end by virtue of his better turn score (the difference of which was less than a full point). He got his chance of redemption, finally winning gold (his second career gold) in the Men’s Dual Moguls. This was Mikael’s fifth career Olympic medal making him the first freestyle skier to have five medals under his belt.
24-year-old Meghan Oldham followed suit by securing gold in Women’s Freestyle Skiing in the Women’s Big Air subdivision making it her first career gold. Her score was so high that she won it in her second round of the event and theoretically did not have to compete in the third round. The other 2 gold medals came in both Men’s and Women’s Speed Skating with the women winning the long track team pursuit format thanks to the trio of Ivanie Blondin, Valérie Maltais, and Isabelle Weidemann. The Men’s medal came in the Short Track format courtesy of Steven Dubois.
Hockey after NHL ban lift
Perhaps a sport where Canada had a chance to shoot for the top more than anywhere else is Ice Hockey. After a 12 year hiatus, NHL players returned to the Winter Olympics. As part of a joint agreement between the NHL, NHL Players Association, the International Ice Hockey Federation, and the International Olympic Committee, the players are back once again. This hiatus was primarily due to a dispute on who would cover travel costs, insurance, and the disruption of pausing a demanding NHL season. These complications were negotiated as the league’s regular schedule expanded and financial concerns took priority.
With the matter resolved, the Canadians looked to make up for lost time and shoot for gold. The men made an early statement beating Czechia with a 5-0 win in their opening game. The Women followed suit taking a 5-0 win over Finland, securing a place in the quarter finals against Germany. Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid has looked particularly strong bagging three assists in the opening game. As of the time of writing, the Men’s team is in the finals, beating Finland with a dramatic last minute goal courtesy of Nathan MacKinnon, completing a 3-2 comeback with gold still in reach. The women’s team fell short, losing 2-1 to the United States in the Finals and securing silver.
A Fight to the end
There are still a couple of games left in the Winter Olympics, going up until the closing ceremony on the 22nd of February. As of now Canada remains firm with 4 gold medals but 11th overall in total medals. Although Canada has not achieved the gold rush they anticipated, this Winter Olympics has still provided some exciting moments to boost the morale of the nation. We can only hope to come back stronger next time.
