As much as Anne Merklinger would love to say with full confidence that Canada is on track for another record-breaking Olympics next year, the CEO of Own the Podium is well aware she can’t make an educated projection just yet.
Thursday marks one year until the opening ceremony of Milano Cortina 2026, but it’s too early to say where Canada’s Winter Olympic hopefuls stand in relation to the rest of the world.
“It’s a little bit different for winter because in summer sports, most of the sports have world championships every year, (whereas) in winter sports (many) only have them in years one and three (following an Olympics),” Merklinger, whose organization is responsible for doling out funding to Olympic hopefuls, said in a telephone interview last week.
“So year three (this season) is a really, really important year for us to analyze performance. We’re just about to head into the start of world championships. The next two months are filled with really important competitions where all the top countries will be in attendance and we can take a step back after that and analyze how countries have performed and what is the potential a year later.”
Nevertheless, Merklinger is optimistic Canada can build off its national record summer total from Paris in 2024 and deliver a strong performance on snow and ice.
Of course, there are challenges. As Canadian Press Olympic sports reporter Donna Spencer wrote this week, stagnant federal funding for national sports organizations is starting to make a real impact on Canada’s top athletes. It’s hard to say what it could mean for the Milano Cortina medal count, but it certainly won’t help going forward.
Canada was fourth in total medals with 26 four years ago in Beijing, and that was with Russia competing and taking home a second-best 32 medals. Russia’s status for 2026 has not been determined.
Of Canada’s 26 medals, only four were gold — the country’s lowest number since 1994. Merklinger, however, doesn’t measure a Games as gold or bust.
“I think Beijing was very successful. This is going to sound a bit strange, but every medal matters whether it is gold, silver or bronze,” she said. “We celebrate all of them the same, frankly. To get on the podium is such a difficult thing for an athlete or a team. Canada has never been a country where we place a higher importance on gold.
“Our investment recommendations to the funding partners are not based on gold being a higher priority over silver and bronze. Every athlete or team that comes back to our country from an Olympic or Paralympic Games and they have a medal around their neck, the inspiration for Canadians in Canadian communities is the same regardless of what the colour of the medal was.”
Based on what we’ve seen so far this season, there’s a mixed look for Canada across the board.
The return of the NHL, of course, will put the brightest spotlight on men’s hockey and no one would be disappointed to see another Canada-U.S. women’s hockey showdown for gold. In curling, meanwhile, Canada looks to get back on track after taking just a single bronze last time out.
There are promising signs in ultra-competitive alpine skiing and a strong possibility of a return to the podium in figure skating, but Canada might be hard-pressed to hit the podium in sliding sports (maybe in Lake Placid, N.Y.!?) for a second Games in a row and the country’s speed skaters were a bit off the pace at a home World Cup in Calgary last month. Short-track speed skating, freestyle skiing, ski cross and snowboarding look like strong events again for Canada.
Here’s a look at some of Canada’s athletes and teams to watch, along with a key-event schedule, as we begin the final drive to Italy’s Olympics.
Jack Crawford: Became the first Canadian to win the famed Kitzbuhel downhill in 42 years last month in Austria. Also the Super G world champ last year.
Cameron Alexander: Took bronze in Kitzbuhel and also had a bronze earlier this season at the Bormio downhill.
Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant (mixed doubles): The married couple won the Canadian Olympic trials earlier this season and will try to nail down an Olympic berth at the world championships starting in late April in Fredericton, N.B. Interestingly, both competed in the last Olympics on women’s and men’s four-person teams, respectively.
Women’s curling team: Will be determined at the Canadian trials, Nov. 22-30 in Halifax. Whoever wins will be a medal contender.
Men’s curling team: Same scenario as the women.
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps (pairs): The American-born Stellato-Dudek got Canadian citizenship in December, making her eligible for the Olympics. This team won gold at the world championships last year.
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (ice dance): Three-time world championship medal winners, with silver last year being the top result. They finished seventh in Beijing as Canada fell short of any medals in figure skating for the first time since 1968.
Mikael Kingsbury (moguls): One of Canada’s most dominant winter athletes has a second event added to the schedule in 2026 — dual moguls. The all-time leader in World Cup ski wins, Kingsbury has two silvers and a gold at the last three Olympics.
Maia Schwinghammer (moguls): The 23-year-old Saskatoon native picked up a World Cup gold this past weekend in Val St. Come, Que., and has been in and around the top five the last couple of years.
Marion Thenault (aerials): Was third in the World Cup standings the past two years and helped Canada win bronze in the mixed competition in Beijing. Also took bronze in this year’s World Cup season opener in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Rachael Karker (halfpipe): Won bronze in Beijing and has two world championship medals. Opened this season with a World Cup bronze in New Zealand.
Cassie Sharpe (halfpipe): Won silver in Beijing and gold in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Took the last two years off while giving birth to her daughter. Was back on the podium in December with a World Cup bronze at Copper Mountain, Colo.
Brendan Mackay (halfpipe): Won gold at the 2023 world championships. Two podiums in the first three World Cup events this season.
Megan Oldham (slopestyle/big air): Took silver at a slopestyle World Cup last month in Switzerland after not competing last year due to a knee injury. Just missed the Olympic podium in 2022, finishing fourth in big air.
Dylan Deschamps (slopestyle/big air): Earned his first World Cup win in just his third start in big air in 2023. Opened this season with a pair of bronze medals.
Reece Howden: Won a pair of World Cup events in December. Two-time overall World Cup champion.
Kevin Drury: Has three World Cup bronze medals this season after finishing fourth in Beijing.
India Sherret: After overcoming several injuries, Sherret has achieved a breakthrough this season, leading the World Cup standings after January.
Marielle Thompson: Won gold in Sochi in 2014 and silver in Beijing. Swept a pair of events in Switzerland this past weekend.
Men’s team: We get NHLers for the first time since 2014, which also happened to be the Canadian men’s last gold.
Women’s team: Canada won gold in 2022 against the Americans after a heartbreaking loss in 2018 versus its main rival.
Laurent Dubreuil: Back on track this past weekend in Milwaukee with a pair of bronze medals in the 500m. Won 1,000m silver in Beijing.
Ivanie Blondin: Won team-pursuit gold and mass-start silver in Beijing. Teamed up with Carolina Hiller and Beatrice Lamarche to win the women’s team sprint at the World Cup in Calgary last month.
Isabelle Weidemann: Three-medal winner in Beijing before being named flag-bearer for the closing ceremony.
SHORT-TRACK SPEED SKATING
William Dandjinou: The 23-year-old leads the overall World Tour standings this season. The top skater at 1,000m and 1,500m. Has the potential to be Canada’s biggest winner in Italy.
Steven Dubois: Leads World Tour standings at 500m. Won three medals at Beijing.
Danae Blais: Has a gold and silver at 1,000m on World Tour this season.
Florence Brunelle: Has two silvers at 500m on World Tour this season.
Hallie Clarke: Won a stunning gold at world championships at age 19 last season. Captured the world junior title earlier this season.
Alex Loutitt: Won large-hill gold at the 2023 world championships, becoming Canada’s first world champ in sport. Added a World Cup gold earlier this season in Japan. Helped country win bronze in the mixed team event in Beijing.
Cameron Spalding (slopestyle/big air): Won first two slopestyle World Cup golds this season.
Francis Jobin (slopestyle/big air): Made Canada three-for-three at slopestyle World Cups this season with gold in Aspen, Colo., this past weekend.
Laurie Blouin (slopestyle/big air): Won Olympic slopestyle silver in 2018 and was fourth in 2022. Earned bronze in World Cup big air earlier this season.
Eliot Grondin (snowboard cross): Swept a pair of World Cup events in China this past weekend. Won Olympic silver in men’s in 2022 and bronze in the mixed race
Meryeta O’Dine: Bronze in women’s and mixed events at 2022 Olympics.
World alpine ski championships: Feb. 4-16, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria
World luge championships: Feb. 6-8, Whistler, B.C.
4 Nations Face-Off (men’s hockey): Feb. 12-20, Montreal and Boston
World Nordic ski championships: Feb. 26-March 9, Trondheim, Norway
World ski mountaineering championships: March 2-9, Morgins, Switzerland
World bobsled and skeleton championships: March 6-9, 15-16, Lake Placid, N.Y.
World single distance speed skating championships: March 13-16, Hamar, Norway
World short-track speed skating championships: March 14-16, Beijing
World women’s curling championships: March 15-23, Uijeongbu, South Korea
World freestyle ski and snowboard championships: March 17-30, St. Moritz, Switzerland
World figure skating championships: March 24-30, Boston
World men’s curling championship: March 29-April 6, Moose Jaw, Sask.
World women’s hockey championship: České Budějovice, Czechia, April 9-20
World mixed doubles curling championship: April 26-May 3, Fredericton, N.B.
World men’s hockey championship: May 9-25, Stockholm, Sweden and Herning, Denmark
