Four ski jumpers set to fly for Team Canada at Milano Cortina 2026

January 20, 2026

Team Canada will have three women and one man competing in ski jumping at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

That includes two members of the team that won Canada’s first ever Olympic ski jumping medal at Beijing 2022.

Abigail Strate, who earned her first career FIS World Cup victory on New Year’s Day, leads a tight women’s team. The lone man on the team, Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes, will make history as Canada’s first five-time Olympian in ski jumping after returning to competition following a two and a half year break.

Four ski jumpers wearing red jackets hold up mascot stuffed animals on the podium — Team Canada ski jumpers Alexandria Loutitt, Matthew Soukup, Abigail Strate and Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes celebrate after winning the bronze medal in the mixed team event during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on Monday, February 07, 2022. Photo by Mark Blinch/COC

Boyd-Clowes made his Olympic debut at Vancouver 2010 when he was just 18. After being part of the historic bronze medal in the inaugural Olympic mixed team event alongside Strate, he competed for one more season before taking time away from the sport. Now 34, he returned to the World Cup circuit this season, a great show of his resilience and longevity.

“I never thought I would be able to call myself a five-time Olympian. Coming from our small club in Calgary this opportunity means a lot to me. I feel like I’ve gotten the chance to represent a big community of past, present and future ski jumpers and all of the people who work so hard to keep the sport in Canada alive,” said Boyd-Clowes. “After taking a few years off competing, I’m definitely approaching these Games with a bit of a different mindset, but I’m grateful to get to go and be there with my teammates and coaches to represent Canada again.”

Strate has been enjoying an incredibly consistent season that began in the summer when she reached the podium in all five events she entered on the Grand Prix tour. That included a victory at the Olympic venue in Val di Fiemme.

Abigail Strate of Canada competes at the Women Normal Hill HS102 Individual Ski Jumping event at the Nordic World Ski Championships, in Trondheim, Norway, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Since the start of the World Cup season in late November, she has finished outside the top 10 just once. She was the runner-up at the opening event in Lillehammer and also finished second in Wisla before topping the podium in Oberstdorf to kick off 2026. She has five other top-five performances this season. All three of her World Cup podiums in 2025-26 have been on the large hill, which will be a women’s Olympic event for the first time at Milano Cortina 2026. Women could previously only compete individually in normal hill.

“I am incredibly honoured to be named to the 2026 Olympic Team. It is always an honour to represent Canada and even more so when it is magnified on the biggest stage in the world against the best-of-the-best,” said Strate. “I’m really looking forward to having my family there cheering me on this time. I have some big goals going into these Games, but I am really confident with all of the work that I have put in over the last four years. We have an incredible support staff and team that have each other’s backs heading to Italy. There is magic in the air at the Olympics and I am so excited to see Natalie and Nicole get their first Games experience.”

Abigail Strate, of Canada, right, with Nicole Maurer, also of Canada, waits for the score of her second round jump at the women’s ski jumping World Cup competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Natalie Eilers and Nicole Maurer will be the first time Olympic team members. Eilers only returned to competition this season after being sidelined since January 2024 when she sustained multiple injuries in a crash and subsequently underwent two knee surgeries. Maurer is an aspiring astronaut who has steadily climbed the ranks and is now reaching the top 30 regularly on the World Cup circuit.

“After 20 years of chasing the Olympic dream, it is finally becoming a reality,” said Maurer. “Representing Canada on the world stage has always been something that I’ve appreciated, but knowing I’m doing it under the global spotlight at the Games is a dream come true.”

Ski jumping at Milano Cortina 2026 will begin on February 7 with the women’s normal hill. The men’s normal hill is on February 9, followed by the men’s large hill on February 14. The women’s large hill will take place February 15.