Five things to watch at the Milan Cortina Games on Wednesday, Feb. 11

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This article was published 10/02/2026 (234 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MILAN – From the first matches for Canada’s men’s curling team to possible Canadian medals ice dance, women’s moguls and men’s 1000-metre speedskating, here are five things to look out for at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Wednesday, Feb. 11:

DANCING TO VICTORY?

Veteran ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will look to secure an Olympic medal in what may be their final competitive skate.

Gilles and Poirier enter Wednesday’s free dance portion of the competition in third place after Monday’s rhythm dance portion, behind former Canadian skater Laurence Fournier Beaudry, now representing France with Guillaume Cizeron, and American three-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates.

Toronto’s Gilles and Poirier, of Unionville, Ont., are both 34 years old and skating in their 15th season, with Milan Cortina being their third Winter Games together.

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EXPERIENCE AT THE RINK

The men’s curling competition at the Games is slated to get underway when Canada takes on Germany in round-robin play. 

Canada is headed by Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., who was the last Canadian skip for a men’s team to lead the Canadians to a gold medal in Sochi in 2014. He will be teamed with Marc Kennedy of St. Albert, Alta., and Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert, both from Chestermere, Alta. All four have previous Olympic experience.

Gallant is returning to action after a disappointing run with wife Jocelyn Peterman in mixed doubles competition, where the duo failed to qualify for the semifinals with a 4-5 record in round-robin play.

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EMOTIONAL DEBUT

Freestyle skier Maia Schwinghammer of Saskatoon will be looking to medal when she makes her Olympic debut in the women’s moguls final.

Schwinghammer, 24, won bronze in the 2025 World Ski Championships in Switzerland and reached the podium three times during the last World Cup season.

The skier’s father became an online sensation at the Games after a CBC reporter interviewed him on the streets of Livigno, Italy, where he broke down in tears describing his pride in seeing his daughter reach the highest level of world competition.

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SUPER-G FAMILY AFFAIR

Four Canadians are scheduled to compete in Wednesday’s men’s super-G alpine skiing event, one of the highest-profile competitions at the Games.

James (Jack) Crawford of Toronto will be joined by the North Vancouver, B.C., trio of Cameron Alexander and brothers Brodie and Riley Seger in the race.

Crawford is the most experienced skier of the group with seven World Cup seasons under his belt, as well as a bronze medal from Beijing 2022 in men’s combined alpine skiing.

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SPEEDING TO THE PODIUM

Speedskater Laurent Dubreuil will look to reach the podium again in the men’s 1,000 metres after winning silver in Beijing in 2022.

Dubreuil, 33, from Lévis, Que., narrowly missed out on another medal at the Beijing Games when he came 0.03 of a second short from reaching the podium in the 500-metres before winning his silver a few days later.

He enters the Milan Cortina Games as an eight-time medallist at the world single-distance championships, including three golds and two silvers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2026.