The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are in full swing and several athletes with Quinte connections are soaking in one of the biggest stages in sports.
Over the opening weekend, pairs figure skater Trennt Michaud (born in Belleville, raised in Trenton and Brighton) and partner Lia Pereira helped Canada finish fifth in the Team Event.
Skating to music from the film Gladiator, Michaud and Pereira finished with a score of 134.42 in the pairs portion of the event.
Michaud had some important moral support in the arena, as a recent fundraising campaign raised nearly $12,000 to send Michaud’s mother Lisa Fralick to the Olympics to watch her son.
Next Sunday and Monday, Feb. 15 and 16, the duo will compete in the Pairs Short Program and Pairs Free Skate.
Hallie Clarke of Brighton will be competing in Skeleton to mark her Olympic debut Friday, Feb. 13 and Saturday, Feb. 14.
Local supporters are encouraged to come out and cheer Clarke on at a Community Watch Party on Saturday beginning at 12:00 pm at the Owen Gibb Community Hall on 75 Elizabeth Street.
Current Belleville Senators goalie Mads Sogaard (Denmark) and former Sens forward Filip Chlapik (played in Belleville from 2017-21, suiting up this Olympics for Czechia as an injury replacement) are representing their respective countries in men’s hockey.
Another former Sens goalie, Filip Gustavsson, is suiting up for Team Sweden, while ex-Belleville Bull Phillip Grubauer will be between the posts for Germany.
The men’s tournament is slated to get underway on Wednesday, Czechia’s first game will be Thursday versus Canada and Denmark will also get underway on Wednesday against Germany.
Regionally, Yarker’s Jay Dearborn is competing in the bobsleigh for the second straight Winter Olympics.
Trennt Michaud and Lia Pereira dazzled the ice during the Team Figure Skating Event over the opening weekend of Milano Cortina 2026. Photo: Trennt Michaud/Instagram
Mads Sogaard Photo: Belleville Senators
