More than 50 cent of Canada’s Olympic athletes will be making their Games debut next month in Milan Cortina, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Thursday.
Of the 207 athletes headed to Italy, 109 will be competing at their first Winter Olympics.
“At the Olympic Games, the world doesn’t just see what athletes can do, it sees what a country is made of. This Canadian team brings heart and pride, grounded in respect,” Olympic moguls skiing great Jennifer Heil said in a statement released by the COC. She is Canada’s chef de mission for these Games.
Forty-seven of the Canadian athletes are Olympic medallists, with hockey start Marie-Philip Poulin, speed skater Valerie Maltais and ski jumper Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes preparing for their fifth Games.
Eric Myles, COC chief sport officer, is looking forward to watching “this incredible group” leave its mark in Milan Cortina.
“Being named to an Olympic team isn’t about a singular performance, season, or moment. It takes years of commitment, sacrifice and resilience from athletes and those who support them every day,” he said.
“We’re proud to stand behind each of them, committed to providing an optimized, distraction-free environment that allows them to reach their full potential.”
Competition runs Feb. 6-22 in the most spread out Games in Olympics history with nearly 3,000 athletes from 93 countries dispersed in six Olympic villages across 22,000 square kilometres in Northern Italy.
They will compete in 116 events on ice and snow, in eight sports and 16 disciplines.
Veteran Olympic skiers Mikaël Kingsbury and Marielle Thompson have been named Canada’s flag-bearers for the Milano-Cortina Games opening ceremony on Feb. 6.
‘I have perspective’
“Behind every start line is a story: years of sacrifice, relentless work, and the resilience to keep going when it would’ve been easier to stop, all in pursuit of an Olympic dream,” said Heil, who will serve as the Canadian team’s spokesperson, mentor, supporter and cheerleader with the aim to motivate and inspire athletes while protecting their performance.
“I have a lot to draw on for the athletes,” Heil told Anastasia Bucsis of CBC Sports last year. “But I think more than that, I have perspective. And sometimes perspective is lacking as an athlete coming into your Games, which sometimes can be too much and too much pressure.
“I have that experience to release the pressure valve a little bit for the team.”
Canadian bobsledder Cynthia Appiah made her first official Olympic appearance at the 2022 Games in Beijing.
She was an alternate brakewoman in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018, but after that experience switched positions, became a pilot and hasn’t stopped since, most recently winning a silver medal in monobob at a World Cup in early January.
Her performances had not been as consistent as she would like, making that World Cup run important leading into these Olympics.
“It means so much more to have been named to the team this time, given how difficult this quadrennial has been for me,” Appiah, a 35-year-old Toronto native and member of the COC Athletes’ Commission, said in a statement.
“I have worked so hard for this and I’m so happy to see my dreams come true again. I am so excited for this team and can’t wait to cheer on my fellow Canadian athletes.”
Besides the athletes, there will be 231 national sport organization support staff and coaches. The delegation will be supported by 181 Canadian Olympic Committee Mission Team members, including 16 Canadian Olympians and three Pan American Games athletes.
The Feb. 6 opening ceremony will be broadcast live on CBC-TV, beginning with the pre-show at 1:30 p.m. ET. Full coverage will be streamed on CBC Gem and the CBC Olympic website.
Team Canada, by the numbers
Athletes who identify as female or are competing in women’s events
Number of athletes: 108
Youngest: Felicity Geremia, 18 (born June 4, 2007) snowboard
Oldest: Deanna Stellato-Dudek, 42 (born June 22, 1983) figure skating
Athletes who identify as male or are competing in men’s events
Number of athletes: 99
Youngest: Eli Bouchard, 18 (born Dec. 12, 2007) snowboard
Oldest: Marc Kennedy, 44 (born Feb. 5, 1982) curling
*This is the first Olympic Winter Games at which Canada athletes competing in women’s events outnumber those competing in men’s events.
Sets of siblings
- Jasmine Drolet (cross-country skiing) and Remi Drolet (cross-country skiing)
- Daniel Hall (long track speed skating) and Laura Hall (long track speed skating)
- Hannah Schmidt (ski cross) and Jared Schmidt (ski cross)
- Brodie Seger (alpine skiing) and Riley Seger (alpine skiing)
Provincial and territorial breakdown
(Based on athletes’ preferred home province or territory)
- Alberta: 46
- British Columbia: 33
- Manitoba: 4
- New Brunswick: 2
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 0
- Northwest Territories: 0
- Nova Scotia: 5
- Nunavut: 0
- Ontario: 58
- Prince Edward Island: 0
- Quebec: 49
- Saskatchewan: 6
- Yukon: 2
- Athletes born outside Canada: 2
Athletes who previously attended a Games
Olympic Winter Games
Beijing 2022 — 90
Pyeongchang 2018 — 43
Sochi 2014 — 13
Vancouver 2010 — 8
Winter Youth Olympic Games
Gangwon 2024 — 2
Lausanne 2020 — 9
Lillehammer 2016 — 7
Innsbruck 2012 — 1
Olympic Summer Games:
Tokyo 2020 – 1
Paris 2024 – 1
**Kelsey Mitchell is set to become Canada’s latest dual season Olympian
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