More than half of the Canadian Olympic athletes competing in the upcoming Milan Cortina Games next month will be making their debut appearance, as announced by the Canadian Olympic Committee on Thursday. Out of the 207 athletes representing Canada in Italy, 109 will be participating in their first Winter Olympics.
Jennifer Heil, a prominent figure in Olympic moguls skiing and Canada’s chef de mission for the Games, emphasized the values of heart, pride, and respect that the Canadian team brings to the global stage. Nearly half of the Canadian athletes heading to Milan Cortina have previously won Olympic medals, including veterans like Marie-Philip Poulin, Valerie Maltais, and Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes, who are gearing up for their fifth Olympic appearance.
Eric Myles, the Chief Sport Officer of the COC, expressed excitement about witnessing the Canadian team’s performance in Milan Cortina, highlighting the years of dedication, sacrifice, and resilience that have led to this moment for the athletes.
The competition, scheduled from Feb. 6-22, will be the most geographically dispersed Winter Games in history, with around 3,000 athletes from 93 countries spread across six Olympic villages in Northern Italy spanning 22,000 square kilometres. The athletes will contend in 116 events on ice and snow, across eight sports and 16 disciplines.
Canadian bobsledder Cynthia Appiah, who transitioned from a brakewoman to a pilot, earned her spot at the 2022 Games in Beijing and recently clinched a silver medal in monobob at a World Cup event in January. Appiah expressed gratitude for the opportunity to represent Canada at the Olympics after facing challenges during the qualifying period.
Aside from the athletes, the Canadian delegation will include 231 national sport organization support staff and coaches, bolstered by 181 members of the Canadian Olympic Committee Mission Team, including former Olympians and Pan American Games athletes. The opening ceremony on Feb. 6 will be broadcast live on CBC-TV, with comprehensive coverage available on CBC Gem and the CBC Olympic website.
In a unique statistical breakdown, it was revealed that the number of female athletes or those competing in women’s events surpasses the male athletes or participants in men’s events for the first time in a Winter Olympics for Canada. The diverse Canadian team also includes sets of siblings and representatives from various provinces and territories across the country.