Ottawa (Rajeev Sharma): Olympic champions Mikaël Kingsbury and Marielle Thompson will carry the Canadian flag at the opening ceremony of the Milano-Cortina Winter Games on Feb. 6, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) announced Wednesday.
The duo, both competing in their fourth Olympic Games, will lead Canada’s freestyle skiing and snowboard athletes during the ceremony in Livigno. The parade of nations will take place simultaneously across multiple venues, including Milan’s San Siro Stadium and mountain clusters in Cortina and Predazzo, making these the most geographically spread Olympic Games in history.
More than 200 Canadian athletes, alongside competitors from 92 other countries, will be housed across six Olympic villages spanning roughly 22,000 square kilometres in northern Italy.
“I had goosebumps when I found out,” said Kingsbury, a three-time Olympic medallist and the most decorated moguls skier in World Cup history. “It’s one of the greatest honours of my life.”
At 33, Kingsbury is widely expected to be competing in his final Olympics. He won silver at the 2014 Sochi Games, captured gold in Pyeongchang in 2018 and earned silver again in Beijing in 2022, becoming the first male moguls skier to win three Olympic medals. He also holds a record 100 World Cup victories and nine world championship titles.
Thompson, also 33, is a Whistler, B.C., native and one of Canada’s most accomplished ski cross racers. She won Olympic gold in 2018 and silver in 2022 and is returning to peak form after battling a series of knee injuries. Despite undergoing multiple surgeries in recent years, Thompson has continued to compete at the highest level and recently returned to the World Cup podium.
The Milano-Cortina opening ceremony will be broadcast live on CBC-TV, with a pre-show beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET. Full coverage will also be available on CBC Gem and the CBC Olympics website.
Kingsbury and Thompson are the third Canadian pair from different sports to share flag-bearing duties, following a 2021 International Olympic Committee rule change allowing countries to name one male and one female athlete. Speed skater Charles Hamelin and hockey captain Marie-Philip Poulin last carried the flag together at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Speaking in a statement, Thompson said being chosen was deeply meaningful. “Carrying the Canadian flag is one of the highest honours of my Olympic career,” she said. “Mikaël and I have grown up in this sport together, and to share this moment is incredibly special.”
Both athletes will be among Canada’s top medal hopes when competition begins, with Kingsbury set to compete in moguls and dual moguls—making its Olympic debut—and Thompson aiming to add to her medal collection in ski cross.
