Laurent Dubreuil wins speedskating bronze as Canada opens women’s hockey playoffs

By Canadian Press on February 14, 2026.

MILAN — Canadian speedskater Laurent Dubreuil has won a bronze in the men’s 500 metres on Day 8 of the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The 33-year-old from Lévis, Que., sprinted across the finish line in a short-lived Olympic-record time of 34.26 seconds to capture his second long track Olympic medal, after a silver in the 1,000 in Beijing.

United States star Jordan Stolz won gold in 33.77 seconds, while Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands took silver in 33.88 — both further lowering the Olympic record time set by the Canadian moments earlier.

The bronze marks Canada’s eighth medal of these Games (three silver, five bronze) and second in speedskating after Valérie Maltais came third in the women’s 3,000. Canada will be hoping to add to that medal total as short-track speedskater William Dandjinou looks to win his first individual Olympic medal later in the day.

Meanwhile, the defending Olympic women’s hockey champion Canadians face Germany in their first elimination game after going 2-1 in the preliminary round, with convincing wins over Czechia and Finland and a humbling 5-0 loss to the United States.

Captain Marie-Philip Poulin returned to the lineup after being injured earlier in the week and missing the last two preliminary-round games.

The captain injured her right knee when she was checked into the boards by Kristyna Kaltounkova midway through the first period of Canada’s 5-1 win over Czechia on Monday.

Dandjinou, of Sherbrooke, Que., competes in the men’s 1,500 metres after winning silver in the mixed team relay and narrowly missing the podium in the 1,000, where he led into the final lap before being passed in the sprint to the finish.

The two-time reigning Crystal Globe champion on short track’s World Tour had been favoured to medal in all three individual distances in Milan.

In women’s curling, Canada’s Rachel Homan dropped a 7-6 decision to Great Britain’s Sophie Jackson on Saturday morning. It was the second straight round-robin loss for Homan and teammates Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes.

The top-ranked Homan (1-2) has a stiff test ahead in the evening session at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. She was scheduled to play second-ranked Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland.

In the mountains of Livigno, freestyle skier Maïa Schwinghammer of Saskatoon returned in women’s dual moguls after finishing fifth in the individual event earlier in the week, but did not advance past the 1/8 final.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2026.

The Canadian Press