Canada’s flag-bearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics are both decorated athletes who have waded through adversity to get to the fourth Olympic Games of their careers.
Moguls skier Mikaël Kingsbury and ski cross racer Marielle Thompson will bear the Maple Leaf in one of four ceremonies to be held simultaneously across northern Italy on Feb. 6.
Kingsbury and Thompson will co-carry the flag in Livigno, where both will compete, alongside concurrent ceremonies in Milan, Cortina and Predazzo.
Both 33 years old, Kingsbury of Deux-Montagnes, Que., and Thompson of Whistler, B.C., made their Olympic debuts in 2014, when Thompson won gold and Kingsbury silver in Sochi, Russia.
“We’ve kind of been going in tandem, it seems like, because we both had our first Olympic Games in Sochi, and then we are the same age as well,” Thompson said.
Kingsbury is among Canada’s most decorated athletes of all time after winning Olympic gold in 2018 and silver medals in both 2014 and 2022.
“I’m going to my fourth Olympic Games. To have that opportunity is beyond my dreams,” Kingsbury said. “I’m super, super excited to walk with the flag, with Marielle also. It’s huge.”
In addition to her ski cross gold in 2014, Thompson earned silver in 2022.
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“When they gave me the call that I’d been selected, I was shocked because I knew they had so many incredible athletes to pick from, that it might not be an opportunity for me, but when I got on the call, I was overjoyed and really excited,” she said.
“I’ve never been to an opening ceremonies before, so that’ll be something new for me as well.”
Kingsbury recalled participating in the 2018 opening ceremonies in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and walking right behind flag-bearers and ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.
“It was pretty cool because I trained at the gym all summer with them,” he recalled. “To see them carry the flag and now it’s my turn, it’s just a great honour.”
Thompson’s knee injury and subsequent surgery last year made her road to Milan Cortina difficult.
“Each of my Olympic experiences has been so drastically different,” she said. “From being a 21-year-old at the top of her game to having gone through several injuries these past few times.
“This injury … has been a lot more difficult than I’ve experienced before, so I’ve had to really push myself. To be the flag-bearer is kind of the cherry on top of the cake. I’m just starting to feel like I’m back in my own again with my skiing. I’m hoping I can bring that momentum and take it all in.”
Thompson, whose silver in Beijing came less than a year after a ligament tear and surgery, is also running for a seat on the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission at the Milan Cortina Games.
Kingsbury’s season was limited by a groin injury, although he claimed his 100th World Cup victory Jan. 9 in Val Saint-Côme, Que., where he was training Wednesday.
Dual moguls makes its Olympic debut in Livigno alongside moguls. Kingsbury is a five-time world champion in dual moguls.
“Right now, I’m skiing without any pain,” he said. “It’s good to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It felt like the last couple months since September, it’s been like a roller-coaster.
“My sport is super fun when you’re healthy, but when you’re hurt, it’s not very fun to take all these impacts from the bumps and the jumps. The last two days on snow felt awesome. It’s motivating, and I can train the way I want and arrive to the Games ready.”
Men’s moguls is Feb. 12 and dual moguls Feb. 15. Women’s ski cross is Feb. 20.
Canada’s flag-bearers for Beijing’s opening ceremonies in 2022 were hockey player Marie-Philip Poulin and short-track speedskater Charles Hamelin.
© 2026 The Canadian Press