Weekend Roundup: Breakthrough bronze at luge world championships, Dandjinou continues to dominate

It was another momentous weekend for Team Canada athletes on the road to Milano Cortina 2026, just a few days after celebrating the one-year countdown to the next Olympic Winter Games.

A young Canadian luge team gave their hometown fans in Whistler a thrill with their podium performance at the FIL World Championships. The Canadian Ice Maples captured four gold medals at the latest stop on the ISU Short Track World Tour. Plus, the Canadian ski cross team reached a major milestone on the FIS World Cup circuit, solidifying the country as the best ever in the discipline.

But that’s not all. Read on for all the highlights you might have missed.

Luge: Team Canada wins world championship relay bronze at home

With family and friends cheering them on, Team Canada claimed the bronze medal in the team relay at the FIL Luge World Championships in Whistler, British Columbia.

Racing on their home track at the Whistler Sliding Centre, the young Canadian team of Embyr-Lee Susko (women’s singles), Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajanski (men’s doubles), Theo Downey (men’s singles), and Beattie Podulsky and Kailey Allan (women’s doubles) stopped the clock in 2:51.641. The fourth team down the track, they watched as the next three teams were unable to beat their time, ensuring they would have a spot on the podium. In the end, the highly favoured Germans took the gold medal in 2:50.361, finishing 0.131 ahead of Austria.

READ: Talented trio of luge teammates and best friends slide towards world championships at home 

READ : Team Canada wins bronze medal in team relay at luge worlds

This is Canada’s fifth world championship medal all time in the team relay, but the first for this new generation of Canadian lugers, who are all under the age of 23. It is Canada’s first world championship medal in the team relay since the event incorporated a women’s doubles sled last year. Women’s doubles luge will make its Olympic debut next year.

Susko had enjoyed a breakout moment in the women’s singles event the day before. The 19-year-old finished fourth, clocking 1:17.287 for her two runs, putting her just 0.038 back of a podium position and just 0.081 back of the winner, Germany’s Julia Taubitz. Susko posted the third-fastest time in the second run.

Podulsky and Allan were also in the top-10 of the women’s doubles event, finishing eighth.

Short Track Speed Skating: Four gold medals for Canada

Four Canadians won gold medals as the ISU Short Track World Tour resumed with its fifth stop in Tilburg, Netherlands.

On Saturday, William Dandjinou continued his dominance of the men’s 1500m, earning his fourth victory of the season in the event. Steven Dubois and Jordan Pierre-Gilles delivered a 1-2 finish for Canada in the men’s 500m, the fourth time this season that two Canadians have shared the podium in the event.

READ : Courtney Sarault and Florence Brunelle win gold in Tilburg

On Sunday, Florence Brunelle earned her first career individual victory on the international circuit, winning the women’s 500m. The 21-year-old is a two-time world junior champion in the distance and had already won two World Tour silver medals earlier this season.

Courtney Sarault got the victory in the women’s 1500m. She had been overtaken for the lead with two laps remaining, but after crossing the finish line, Belgium’s Hanne Desmet was penalized for contact with Italian Arianna Fontana earlier in the race, elevating Sarault to the gold medal.

Heading into the final World Tour stop of the season in Milan, which will also serve as the Olympic test event, the Canadian Ice Maples sit comfortably atop the ISU Team Crystal Globe rankings. Dandjinou has a near-insurmountable lead in the men’s Crystal Globe standings of 282 points over Dutch skater Jens van ‘T Wout with Dubois in third.

Ski Cross: Thompson earns Canada’s 100th World Cup win

Marielle Thompson has taken over the lead in the women’s ski cross Crystal Globe standings after earning her third straight FIS World Cup victory on Saturday in Val Di Fassa, Italy.

She shared the podium with teammate Courtney Hoffos, who finished third for her first World Cup podium of the season, marking a high mark in her comeback after missing all of 2023-24 while recovering from a knee injury. India Sherret finished fourth in the big final. France’s Marielle Berger Sabbatel broke up the Canadian podium sweep by finishing second.

READ : Ski Cross: Thompson, Howden golden in Val di Fassa

On Sunday, Reece Howden earned his third victory of the season in the men’s event. Abby McEwen was the only Canadian woman in the second women’s big final of the weekend, placing fourth.

Canada is the most successful country in the history of ski cross. Thompson’s win marked a major milestone as Canada’s 100th World Cup victory all time in ski cross.

Big Air: Big wins for Oldham and Bouchard in Aspen

Megan Oldham earned her first FIS World Cup win since December 2022 as she was victorious in Aspen on Thursday. Oldham scored 183.75 for her first two runs in the women’s ski big air final, notching 92.00 and 91.75 points for each. She finished 8.5 points clear of runner-up, Flora Tabanelli of Italy.

Eli Bouchard got his career World Cup podium and victory all at once in men’s snowboard big air. The 17-year-old scored 189.00 for his best two runs of the final, finishing 4.5 points ahead of Japan’s Taiga Hasegawa, the reigning world champion. Two other Canadians made it to the final, with Mark McMorris finishing sixth and Liam Brearley right behind in seventh.

Noah Porter MacLennan was the top Canadian in men’s ski big air, finishing sixth.

Ski Jumping: Loutitt third at history-making event in Lake Placid

For the first time ever, a women’s FIS World Cup ski jumping event was held in the United States. Lake Placid, which has twice hosted the Olympic Winter Games, was the site of the history-making competition. Alexandria Loutitt finished third in Friday’s large hill event. It is her second podium of the season and 11th of her career. She followed up with a 10th-place finish on Saturday.

Moguls: Another podium for Schwinghammer, Kingsbury bounces back

Maïa Schwinghammer reached the FIS World Cup podium for a second straight week, finishing third in women’s moguls in Deer Valley, Utah. She followed up with an eighth-place performance in dual moguls.

Meanwhile, after a very uncharacteristic fall in the first round of the men’s moguls final, Mikaël Kingsbury bounced back to take second place in dual moguls on Sunday. Julien Viel had come up just short of the podium in men’s moguls, finishing fourth.

Aerials: Miha Fontaine reaches first final of season

Miha Fontaine was the top Canadian at the FIS World Cup for aerials, also in Deer Valley, finishing sixth in the men’s event. He was the only member of the Canadian team to advance to either the men’s or women’s finals. The 21-year-old advanced to his first final of the season despite challenging weather conditions.

Bobsleigh: Cynthia Appiah slides to season best result

Cynthia Appiah posted her best result of the season on Saturday, placing sixth in women’s monobob at the IBSF World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway. It was her fifth time inside the top 10 this season. Appiah’s two-run time of 1:49.38 was just 0.24 slower than that of the winner, Bree Walker of Australia.

In the two-woman event, Melissa Lotholz and Leah Walkeden were the top Canadian crew, finishing eighth. Appiah and Skylar Sieben finished 11th.

Tennis: Shapovalov wins biggest title of career

Denis Shapovalov defeated three top-10 opponents en route to lifting the trophy at the Dallas Open, an ATP 500 tournament. He took down Taylor Fritz (Round of 16), Tommy Paul (semifinals), and Casper Ruud (final) to earn the biggest title of his career after two years of struggling with injuries and form. Shapovalov defeated World No. 5 Ruud in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-3 for his third career singles title.

As a result of his run, Shapovalov has risen 22 spots to No. 32 in the ATP singles ranking, his highest position since September 2023.

Athletics: Mitton makes world’s biggest indoor throw in more than a decade

Sarah Mitton matched her Canadian women’s shot put record with a throw on 20.68m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold event on Friday in Karlsruhe, Germany. It is the best indoor women’s shot put throw in the world since 2013. Mitton broke the North American indoor record to win a stacked competition in which three women threw beyond 20 metres for the first time indoors since the 1991 World Indoor Championships.