LIVIGNO – Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Meryeta O’Dine says she’s heartbroken but looking forward after an injury forced her to miss the Milan Cortina snowboard cross events.
The Canadian Olympic Committee announced Saturday that the 28-year-old from Prince George, B.C., fell in training and fractured an ankle bone.
O’Dine said her injury occurred Friday while navigating a series of three rollers.
“I got a little bit late on the first one and kind of got flipped a bit sideways and just smacked right into the last roller,” she said Saturday.
While she’d hoped to board down the slope on her own, “I took a couple steps and it wasn’t OK at all.”
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O’Dine won an individual bronze in the women’s snowboard cross event in Beijing 2022 and teamed up with Éliot Grondin to win bronze in the mixed team event.
Her withdrawal from the Milan Cortina Olympics represents a blow to Canada’s snowboarding medal hopes.
Snowboard cross athlete Tess Critchlow withdrew prior to the Games due to injury, while three-time medallist Mark McMorris missed the men’s snowboard big air qualification after a crash in training, though he hopes to return for slopestyle.
O’Dine said she had previously fractured her ankle in November, and expressed pride on how she’d managed to return to form.
“All you can do is look forward and take the best care of yourself,” she said.
Women’s snowboard cross takes place Feb. 13, while the mixed event happens Feb. 15.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press