What to know
- Team Canada’s 206 athletes lit up the Milan Olympics opening ceremony in red snow jackets and parkas, drawing huge cheers at home, praise from fans online, and a show of support from Prime Minister Mark Carney.
- The opening ceremony outfits sparked mixed reactions on social media, with some fans loving the bold maple leaf designs and others criticizing the puffer jackets, though national pride largely won out.
- Competition is already underway, with Canada winning three of four curling mixed doubles matches and posting strong fourth- and sixth-place finishes in figure skating, as a packed weekend of events leads into the Games running until Feb. 22.
Two-hundred-and-six Canadian athletes graced the opening ceremony catwalk of the Milan Olympics Friday, and the crowd went wild, even right here at home.
As Team Canada walked through with a wave, they wore red snow jackets and parkas to show their pride for their home country.
This display didn’t go unnoticed.
“There go our heroes!,” wrote one X user.
“Go Team Canada 🇨🇦 we are rooting for you!!,” wrote another X user.
“Wahoooo already making us sooo proud TEAM CANADA!!!🇨🇦 ❤️❤️,” wrote an excited Instagram user.
“Let’s go Canada! Allez Canada!,” wrote another Instagram user.
Even Prime Minister Mark Carney joined in on the celebration ahead of the ceremony, showing his support in a video while wearing a Team Canada jersey.
“Good luck Team Canada, you’ve earned this one,” he wrote in part.
Carney later reacted to Team Canada’s entrance with a follow-up post.
“We’re ready to cheer you on from 🇨🇦,” he said.
As the athletes grace the stage, viewers noticed their representative puffer jackets, with some wearing massive maple leafs on the front of them.
“Team Canada’s opening ceremony outfits are horrendous,” one X user wrote.
Another agreed, but pushed his thoughts aside.
“God those jackets look bad lol, but whatever. Doesn’t matter. Go Canada Go!”
A different X user noted there were other options given to the athletes as well.
Although not all fans agreed.
“i think team canada should give me one of the olympic fits because i am pure of heart and also because i REALLY REALLY REALLY want one,” wrote one X user.
“They snapped on the designs!,” wrote an Instagram user.
The opening ceremony featured thousands of athletes from across 92 participating delegations.
It spotlights all the athletes taking part in the 116 different medal events for eight ice and snow sports.
Games already underway
Despite a roaring opening ceremony, competitions for some Olympic events already began two days prior.
So far, Team Canada competed in four Curling Mixed Doubles games, in which they won three against the Czech Republic, Italy and Norway. On Friday, Canada lost 5-7 to the United States team.
The rest of Friday’s events focused on figure skating, where Canada’s Madeline Schizas got sixth place in the Ladies Singles portion, Trennt Michaud and Lia Pereira received fourth place in the pairs portion, and Paul Poirier and Piper Gilles earned fourth place for the team ice dance event.
“It was a beautiful skate, very worth waking up at 5:30am so I didn’t miss it,” wrote one Instagram user about the pair skate event.
“👏👏👏👏Bravo!!! ❤️❤️ 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦,” one Instagram user wrote about Poirier and Gilles’ performance.
The weekend brings another packed schedule for Team Canada, as athletes compete in skiing, skating, curling, snowboarding, and hockey events.
The Olympics run until Feb. 22.
