After two weeks of fierce competition and heartwarming camaraderie, the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics have come to a close.
From mesmerizing ice dance performances by Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier to a dizzying big air final run for freestyle skier Megan Oldham, Canadians had plenty of iconic moments at these winter games.
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Here are five Canadian moments you might have missed from the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics:
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier’s bronze medal ice dance
Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier wowed audiences with a Van Gogh inspired free dance on day six of the winter games to “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)” by Josh Groban, after also placing third in the rhythm skate. This was the first time Canada placed on the podium since Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue retired in 2019, ending their decade long reign as two of the best ice dancers in the world.
After Gilles and Poirier finished their free dance, they weeped in each other’s arms. Their performance earned them a season-best free skate score of 131.56, for a total 217.7 points.
Megan Oldham’s golden switch double cork 1260
If Newmarket Ont.,’s Megan Oldham was at all nervous before her finals runs in the freestyle skiing big air event, she definitely didn’t let it show. Oldham put down a stylish and clean first run with a switch double cork 1260 — three and a half rotations and two flips in the air — earning her a staggering 91.75. In her second run, she put down another double cork 1260 with a different entry, vaulting her into first place with a combined score of 180.75 and beating out 2022 champion Eileen Gu. Oldham also won a bronze medal in slopestyle the week before, her first Olympic medal.
Mikaël Kingsbury’s ultra clean moguls run
If Mikaël Kingsbury chooses to retire after Milano Cortina, then he’s going out on top. He was a top contender for both the moguls and the inaugural dual moguls freestyle skiing events, despite this being his fourth Olympic games. Kingsbury finished a mere 0.7 points behind gold medalist Australian Cooper Woods-Topalovic, earning a silver medal. In the dual moguls final, he kept calm, cool and collected, beating Japan’s Ikuma Horishima and winning gold.
Marc Kennedy’s heated exchange
During one of the round robin matches against the Swedish curling team, Canadian curler Marc Kennedy was accused of double-touching the curling stone after releasing the handle, prompting Swede Oskar Eriksson to make a formal complaint against Kennedy. Towards the end of the game, a verbal fight erupted between the two, with Kennedy using some unpleasant choice words.
Canada still came out on top, winning the game 8-6. The team won against both Norway and Great Britain, earning Canada its first gold medal in men’s curling since Sochi 2014.
Connor McDavid is the real MVP
The Canadian men’s ice hockey team fought valiantly against the United States during the gold medal game Sunday morning, earning silver. With captain Sidney Crosby too injured to play, Connor McDavid — of the Edmonton Oilers — was named acting captain. He scored two goals and 11 assists, adding to a total of 13 points, breaking the record set by Finland’s Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu. He was named Team Canada’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).
