Pressure-filled and precious Olympic experience for Canada’s “greatest technical skier”
Brian Stemmle called her the “greatest technical skier Canada has ever seen” in his television commentary.
Great praise from a former racer, yet Valérie Grenier will leave her third Olympic Games without a medal. The last chance for the 29-year-old from St-Isidore, Ont., to chase a medal at Milano Cortina 2026 came Sunday, but her hopes in the giant slalom eroded in less than 65 seconds.
A five-time podium finisher on the FIS World Cup circuit—including four in giant slalom—during her decade-long career, Grenier finished eighth in Sunday’s first run down the Olympia delle Tofane course at Cortina, Italy.
On the second run, Grenier ran afoul of an upper section of the 49-gate,1300-metre course that challenged many of the 61 racers. She finished 13th with a combined time of two minutes 14.58 seconds.
“I’m disappointed with myself. I had high hopes for the giant slalom, and it just didn’t go as planned,” she said. “First run, I didn’t ski that great in the top section, and then I felt that I held back at the bottom. For the second run, I just tried to move up as much as possible, but it was a very turny course and I struggled to find my rhythm. I was behind every turn at a top and could not get the speed going.”
On the first weekend of the Games, Grenier was disqualified in the downhill when she didn’t get out of the start gate in her allotted time window because of a problem with her pole. Writing on her Facebook page, Grenier explained that 15 seconds before her start her pole strap came undone, fell and opened the start wand.
“I thought it was over already, but the start guy closed it again and said 10 seconds,” she wrote to her followers. “My tech and I tried to reattach my strap and when we finally got it, I rushed to start ASAP but turns out it was too late, which ultimately led to my disqualification.”
No Canadian skier has won an Olympic medal in a technical event (giant slalom or slalom) in 50 years, since Kathy Kreiner surprised the world with her giant slalom gold at Innsbruck 1976. Canada’s only other medal in giant slalom came in 1968 when Nancy Greene won gold.
Overall, Canadian women have won eight Olympic medals in alpine skiing, but none since Kerrin Lee-Gartner‘s downhill gold at Albertville 1992. Grenier went into these Games hopeful of finally adding to that small collection. Failing to do so, she suggested, may have been partly due to the enormous Olympic pressure that foils the hopes of many athletes.
“Deep down, I might have been putting too much pressure on myself,” Grenier said. “I don’t usually get nervous in the start, but now I was a bit because of being at the Olympics. Even though my results are disappointing, it was very nice to have my family here at the Games, compared to what we experienced in Beijing. It was precious to have their support in the finish. I also enjoyed the life in the Olympic Village.”
Britt Richardson, 22, of Canmore, Alta., had a similar issue on the same section as Grenier and finished 26th with a two-run combined time of 2:16.65.
“First run started good, and then at the bottom I made a costly mistake that pushed me back,” Richardson said of her runs. “It didn’t bother me too much entering into the second run because I knew it was a tight race. I entered second run with a strong approach, but I made a mistake early on and then I lost my plan and mindset and had a bunch of other mistakes.
“It’s a different hill to race on than we’re used to because it’s very much a speed hill that we’re doing a giant slalom on. There isn’t much of a pitch here and that’s where I excel.”
Justine Lamontagne, 23, from Longueil, Que., finished 28th in 2:17.82. Cassidy Gray, 25, of Invermere, B.C., did not finish the first run.
“Overall, I’m pretty happy with my first ever Olympic race,” Lamontagne said. “My first run didn’t go quite as planned – I hit a gate in my face towards the bottom, but I still made it down the bottom! Second run was much better.”
Host country favourite Federica Brignone won the race in 2:13.50, claiming her second gold medal in four days. She earlier won the super-G, completing a stunning comeback from breaking multiple bones in her left leg in March 2025. She was unable to even walk for three months.
Sara Hector of Switzerland and Thea Louise Stjernesund of Norway, who had identical times in both runs, shared the silver medal in 2:14.12.