10 Canadians to watch out for at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games

Team Canada finished strong at Beijing 2022 with four golds among a haul of 26.

Following the conclusion of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, thoughts are already turning to Milano Cortina in four years’ time and the next crop of emerging talent.

Here’s our take on the Canadian youngsters who look set to light up the next Games…

Madeline Schizas – Figure Skating

Leading the way for Team Canada in Italy will likely be figure skating star Madeline Schizas, who turned 19 while competing at Beijing 2022.

After taking a superb national title in January, the Oakville-native very nearly made it on to the Olympic podium, following a pair of personal-best performances.

“I'm going to take what I've learned here [at the Olympics] for the rest of my season and the rest of my career," Schizas claimed.

Sarah Fillier – Ice Hockey

One of Canada’s big success stories at Beijing was the women’s ice hockey team, who improved on their second-place finish from PyeongChang 2018 to earn gold this time around.

They did so with a very youthful team, spearheaded by 21-year-old Sarah Fillier. She managed to score eight goals in seven games en route to Olympic gold.

"I'm very happy with my tournament, my line's tournament, my whole team's tournament,” she said after the gold medal match.

“Everybody came up ready to play…that's what set us apart.”

Steven Dubois – Short Track Speed Skating

While the big story in the world of short track speed skating was the imminent retirement of Canadian legend Charles Hamelin (who took gold in the Olympic 1500m), his young understudy quietly enjoyed a superb debut Games. 

Steven Dubois won bronze in the men’s 500m race, silver in the 1500m and gold in the men’s 5000m relay alongside veteran Hamelin. 

By the time of the next Olympic Winter Games, the 24-year-old is very much expected to be Canada’s main man.

Rachael Karker – Freestyle Skiing

While Ailing (Eileen) Gu stole the show in the women’s freeski halfpipe in Beijing, it was a pair of Canadians who flanked her on the other two podium steps.

Earning a silver in the event was veteran Cassie Sharpe, who stormed to gold in the same event four years earlier.

However, winning bronze was 24-year-old Rachael Karker, who has quietly emerged as one of the world’s best freeskiers in recent years.

Alongside her Olympic bronze, a silver medal from last year’s World Championships in Aspen gives us the biggest indication yet that Karker could be the best placed woman to take the fight to Gu in Milano Cortina next time out.

Megan Oldham – Freestyle Skiing

The future of Canadian freestyle skiing looks to be in very safe hands, as in the slopestyle and big air events, 20-year-old Megan Oldham is already making waves.

Having just missed out on the podium in Beijing, her best accomplishment to date was winning a slopestyle bronze in last year’s World Championships.

She also has five X Games medals to her name, and previously shocked the freeski world by winning a Crystal Globe as the top ranked women’s slopestyle skier in her first season on the World Cup circuit – edging out Gu in the process.

Brooke Dhondt – Snowboarding

The youngest athlete on this list, at just 16, Brooke Dhondt managed to qualify for the 2022 Olympic halfpipe final earlier this month ahead of some stellar names.

The rising star from Calgary made her X Games debut at 14, and will very likely be entering her snowboarding prime by 2026.

Elizabeth Hosking - Snowboarding

Four years D’Hondt’s senior, Elizabeth Hosking also represented Canada as a 16-year-old, although she failed to make the halfpipe final at PyeongChang 2018.

She improved on that result in 2022, managing to qualify for the final, where she would finish a more than respectable sixth.

Can she go better still and work her way on to the podium in Italy?

Eliot Grondin - Snowboard Cross

Canadian snowboard cross looks to be in a similarly healthy position, with Eliot Grondin leading the next generation of riders.

Having made his Olympic debut as a 16-year-old in South Korea, Grondin took a brilliant silver medal in Beijing earlier this month – finishing just 0.02 seconds away from gold.

"When I say something, I usually want to achieve it, and when I was 12, I said that I wanted to win the Olympics,” he said.

“I got silver, so for sure I'm going to keep pushing and trying to get that gold at the next one.”

Meryeta O'Dine - Snowboard Cross

As well as individual medals, Team Canada also took a bronze in the snowboard cross mixed team event.

Meryeta O’Dine, a 24-year-old who missed the 2018 Olympics after suffering a scary concussion in the run up to the Games, finished third on the podium.

The rider from British Columbia also won an individual bronze in the women’s snowboard cross event.

Marion Thenault - Aerials

The 21-year-old aerial skier Marion Thenault helped Canada win bronze in this year’s inaugural Olympic mixed team event.

Alongside this, the Sherbrooke, Quebec-native also finished seventh in the women’s individual final and previously won three World Cup medals after making her aerials debut back in 2020.