By The Canadian Press

Canadian speedskater Maltais wins bronze in the women’s 1,500 metres

Feb 20, 2026 | 2:00 AM

MILAN — Canadian speedskater Valérie Maltais picked up her third medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics, rescuing what was shaping up to be a disappointing Day 14 for Canada at the Games.

The veteran skater from La Baie, Que., took bronze in the women’s 1,500 meters on Friday, finishing third in a stacked field.

Maltais took the lead with a time of one minute 54.4 seconds with several pairs left to go.

She was eventually passed by gold medallist Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong of the powerhouse Dutch and Ragne Wiklund of Norway, but she clinched an unlikely spot on the podium when world record holder Miho Takagi, skating in the last pair, came apart on her final lap and finished sixth.

Maltais won Canada’s first medal of the Milan Cortina Games with a bronze in the 3,000 metres on Day 1. She also teamed with Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann to defend Canada’s Olympic women’s pursuit title.

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Her Olympic medals in the individual events are the first of her career.

The 35-year-old will compete in Saturday’s mass start in what could be her final Olympic race.

Meanwhile, Canada’s men’s hockey is fighting for a spot in the gold medal game without captain Sidney Crosby.

Crosby sustained a lower-body injury when Canada beat Czechia 4-3 in overtime Wednesday to advance to the semifinal match against Finland.

The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar was scratched from Canada’s lineup Friday morning. Connor McDavid is serving as captain in Crosby’s absence.

At the short-track in Milan, medals will be handed out in the men’s 5,000-metre relay and the women’s 1,500-metre event, with Canadian speedskaters in contention for the podium in both competitions.

The women’s event will see Moncton’s Courtney Sarault go for her fifth medal of the Games while Kim Boutin, of Sherbrooke, Que., looks to add her third.

The men’s relay team competing in the A final will feature Steven Dubois, of Terrebone, Que., who won gold on Wednesday in the men’s 500 metres, and Montreal’s William Dandjinou.

In women’s curling, Rachel Homan’s Ottawa-based team lost 6-3 to Sweden in the semifinal and will face the United States for bronze on Saturday.

The game was tied 2-2 at the halfway point before Sweden scored a deuce in the sixth end and added a steal of one in the seventh.

Down by three with hammer in the 10th end, the Canadians were run out of rocks.

Sweden will face Switzerland for gold on Sunday.

Earlier, Canada was held off the Olympic podium in women’s ski cross for the first time.

Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C., Brittany Phelan of Mont-Tremblant, Que., and Ottawa’s Hannah Schmidt were all eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Thompson finished fourth in her race, while Schmidt and Phelan finished third and fourth in theirs.

Thompson, Canada’s co-flag-bearer for the Milan Cortina opening ceremony, won ski cross gold in 2014 and silver in 2022.

Canada had won at least one medal in the event at every previous Olympics since its debut at the 2010 Vancouver Games, when Ashleigh McIvor captured gold.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2026.

The Canadian Press