Courtney Sarault Archives - World Today News

Milano Cortina, Italy – Day 6 of the 2026 Winter Olympics saw Team Canada achieve its most successful day of competition thus far, securing multiple medals across a range of events. The day’s results included silvers for Mikaël Kingsbury in men’s moguls and Éliot Grondin in men’s snowboard cross, a bronze for Courtney Sarault in women’s 500-metre short track speed skating, a dominant win for the Canadian men’s hockey team, and a resounding victory for the women’s hockey team.

The Canadian men’s hockey team opened their Olympic tournament with a decisive 5-0 victory over Czechia. Connor McDavid recorded three assists, while Macklin Celebrini, Mark Stone, Bo Horvat, Nathan MacKinnon, and Nick Suzuki each scored a goal. Jordan Binnington earned a shutout with 26 saves. MacKinnon’s power-play goal, set up by Sidney Crosby and McDavid, highlighted the team’s offensive prowess. Canada will next face Switzerland on Friday at 3:10 p.m. EST/12:10 p.m. PST.

Following a difficult 5-0 loss to the United States, the Canadian women’s hockey team rebounded with a 5-0 win against Finland. Emily Clark scored twice, with Jennifer Gardiner, Daryl Watts, and Kristin O’Neill also contributing goals. Ann-Renée Desbiens secured the shutout with 17 saves. The win places Canada in second in Group A, and they will face Germany in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 10:40 a.m. EST/7:40 a.m. PST. Captain Marie-Philip Poulin remains sidelined with a lower-body injury, but is reportedly showing improvement.

Mikaël Kingsbury narrowly missed out on a gold medal in freestyle skiing men’s moguls, settling for silver after a tie with Australia’s Cooper Woods. The tie-breaker favoured Woods due to a higher turns score (48.4 to Kingsbury’s 47.7). This silver medal marks Kingsbury’s fourth Olympic medal across four Games, adding to his previous silvers in 2014 and 2022, and a gold in 2018. Fellow Canadian Julien Viel finished sixth.

Éliot Grondin secured a silver medal in men’s snowboard cross, finishing behind Austria’s Alessandro Hämmerle and Jakob Dusek. Grondin, the 2025 world champion, was aiming for gold but was again defeated by Hämmerle, mirroring the outcome of the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Courtney Sarault claimed a bronze medal in the women’s 500-metre short track speed skating event, finishing with a time of 42.427. The gold medal went to Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands (41.609), and silver to Italy’s Arianna Fontana (42.294). Kim Boutin finished fifth for Canada. Sarault’s bronze adds to the silver medal she won earlier in the Games as part of the mixed 2,000-metre relay team.

Rachel Homan’s Canadian curling team defeated Denmark 10-4, starting their Olympic campaign with a strong performance. A four-point steal in the fifth end proved decisive. Canada will next play the United States on Friday at 8:05 a.m. EST/5:05 a.m. PST.

In a separate development, Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was barred from competing in Thursday’s event after refusing to replace his helmet, which honours Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed in the war with Russia. The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation cited a violation of the Olympic Charter and guidelines on athlete expression. Heraskevych maintained that he was not violating any rules.

Milano Cortina, Italy – Day 6 of the 2026 Winter Olympics saw Team Canada achieve its most successful day of competition thus far, securing multiple medals across a range of events. While gold continued to elude them, Canadians added two silver and one bronze to their medal count, alongside strong performances in hockey and curling.

Mikaël Kingsbury came agonizingly close to securing Canada’s first gold of the Games in the men’s freestyle skiing moguls final. Kingsbury and Australia’s Cooper Woods both scored 83.71, but Woods was awarded the gold medal due to a higher turns score (48.4 to Kingsbury’s 47.7). This silver marks Kingsbury’s fourth Olympic medal across four Games, adding to his gold from 2018 and silvers from 2014 and 2022.

Shortly after Kingsbury’s near miss, Éliot Grondin added a second silver for Canada in the men’s snowboard cross. The Sainte-Marie, Quebec native finished behind Austria’s Alessandro Hämmerle, repeating a familiar result for the two athletes. Hämmerle also defeated Grondin for gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Courtney Sarault secured Canada’s first bronze medal of the Games in the women’s 500-metre short track speed skating event. Further medal opportunities await Team Canada in short track, with the men’s 1000m final scheduled for later today.

On the ice, Canada’s men’s hockey team opened their Olympic tournament with a dominant 5-0 victory over Czechia. Connor McDavid registered three assists, while Macklin Celebrini, Mark Stone, Bo Horvat, and Nathan MacKinnon also found the back of the net. A power-play goal by MacKinnon, set up by Sidney Crosby and McDavid, highlighted the team’s offensive prowess. Goaltender Jordan Binnington earned the shutout with 26 saves. Canada will next face Switzerland, who defeated France 4-0 on Thursday.

The Canadian women’s hockey team rebounded from a stunning 5-0 loss to the United States with a decisive 5-0 win of their own against Finland. Emily Clark scored twice, with Jennifer Gardiner, Daryl Watts, and Kristin O’Neill also contributing goals. Ann-Renée Desbiens recorded a shutout with 17 saves. The win secures second place in Group A for Canada, setting up a quarterfinal matchup against Germany on Saturday.

Rachel Homan’s Canadian curling team also began their Olympic campaign with a strong performance, defeating Denmark 10-4. A four-point steal in the fifth end proved pivotal in securing the victory. Homan is seeking her first Olympic medal in her third Games appearance.

Away from the medal events, Isabelle Weidemann finished fifth in the women’s 5,000m speed skating event, while Laura Hall placed ninth. In women’s alpine skiing, neither Valérie Grenier nor Cassidy Gray finished their Super-G runs. Alison Mackie was the top Canadian finisher in the women’s 10km interval start free cross-country skiing race, finishing eighth.

The Games also saw controversy as Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was barred from competing after refusing to remove a helmet adorned with images honouring Ukrainian soldiers and coaches killed in the war with Russia. The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation cited a violation of the Olympic Charter and guidelines on athlete expression. Heraskevych maintained he was not violating any rules.

Courtney Sarault

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