Livigno, Italy – Canadian ski cross racer Reece Howden branded conditions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics an “absolute joke” Saturday, after being eliminated in the quarterfinal stage of the men’s ski cross event. The criticism came as heavy snowfall disrupted multiple events, including a postponement of the women’s freeski halfpipe final and a series of crashes in the four-man bobsleigh heats.
Howden, the reigning World Cup Crystal Globe winner, expressed his frustration to Canadian Olympic broadcaster CBC, stating, “Honestly, the weather is ridiculous. I don’t know what the times are but it’s gotta be like 10 to 15 seconds slower. It’s a completely different course.” He added, “It’s snowing so hard and the track is dead slow. At this point, I’m happy I’m not involved in this [final] race because… Here’s not ski cross. This is terrible. Olympics is supposed to be the best of the best. The peak of our sport. I’ll wait four more years because this is an absolute joke.”
The complaints weren’t isolated to Howden. Kevin Drury, also competing for Canada, echoed the sentiment after his own quarterfinal exit. According to Olympic.ca, Drury stated, “If they wanted to put on a show, which they always say they do, this is not the show.” He added that he was “really starting to figure this course out” before the conditions deteriorated.
The challenging conditions led to a disappointing day for the entire Canadian ski cross team, with all four entries failing to advance past the quarterfinals. This marks the first time since the event’s Olympic debut in 2010 that Canada has not placed an athlete on the podium in ski cross.
The weather also impacted other events. Organizers postponed the women’s freeski halfpipe final, originally scheduled for Saturday morning, until Sunday evening, citing the inability to “prepare the pipe in a safe and fair condition.” This delay came after several events in the mountain region were already postponed earlier in the week due to inclement weather.
The Cortina Sliding Centre also saw dramatic events during the four-man bobsleigh heats. Three sleds crashed in the second round, including those piloted by Austria’s Jakob Mandlbauer, France’s Romain Heinrich, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Axel Brown. Mandlbauer was transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation after his crash, with Austrian officials reporting he had movement in his extremities. The crashes resulted in the disqualification of the French and Trinidadian teams, preventing them from competing in Sunday’s event.
Elsewhere, Polish short track speed skater Kamila Sellier sustained a facial cut during a crash in the women’s 1,500-meter quarterfinal. She was treated on the ice and subsequently admitted to hospital, posting on Instagram that she was “doing quite OK” and thanking supporters.
A separate incident involved a Czechoslovakian wolfdog named Nazgul, who escaped from his home and ran onto the cross-country course during a biathlon event, briefly joining the skiers on the finishing straight. While the incident caused a “panic moment” for the dog’s owners, it was largely met with amusement.