VIDEO SHOWS: CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTE'S OPENING PRESS CONFERENCE AT MILANO CORTINA WINTER GAMES RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SHOTLIST SHOWS: MILAN, ITALY (FEBRUARY 5, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. MEMBERS OF CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE ARRIVING AT PRESS CONFERENCE 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE CEO AND SECRETARY GENERAL, DAVID SHOEMAKER, SAYING: "In my role, I'm not supposed to play favourites with any sports or even with seasons, but I think for Canadians there's always something special about the Winter Games, never more so it seems than perhaps this winter when tensions globally are high and our sporting rivalry with our neighbour to the south is at a fever pitch. Attention and expectations will be higher than ever. And like everyone on the stage here in front of you today, I'm confident that Team Canada is poised to deliver." 3. PRESS CONFERENCE ONGOING 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE CEO AND SECRETARY GENERAL, DAVID SHOEMAKER, SAYING: "Well, I think our our Canadian athletes are focused on the matter at hand, which is doing everything they can do to compete at their best at these games. The rivalry with the United States is one that's decades and decades old in sport and yet I think there's a little bit more riding on it and we'll certainly see that in the hockey games and in the other sport venues. But you wouldn't need to tell. And we certainly haven't instructed our athletes to behave in a certain way. But our women's hockey team, for example, you know, they know what's at stake when they compete against the U.S. That is, you know, the best rivalry in women's hockey. And we're looking forward to seeing it. And what's great about sport is I think that they're going to compete like heck and then whatever the outcome, shake hands at the end of the day." 5. PRESS CONFERENCE ONGOING 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE CHIEF OF SPORT, ERIC MYLES ON INJURED SNOWBOARDER MARK MCMORRIS, SAYING: "The most important right now (is that) Mark is doing fine. He's good. He's out of the hospital. He's good. He's in the village back with the athletes. It's a situation, of course, we're assessing hour per hour, I would say, with the specialists and the doctors, with all the different protocols that we have in place. And from there, we're going to take a decision with him to see for the continuity. (French) Of his Olympic journey. (English) Of his continuity." 7. END OF PRESS CONFERENCE STORY: With Canada–U.S. tensions bubbling beyond sport and into geopolitics, Team Canada held their opening press conference of the Milano Cortina Olympics on Thursday (February 5) facing a pointed question: will their athletes compete with “elbows up” against the Americans? The message from the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) was clear. The approach on the field of play remains unchanged, but the rivalry is real – and the stakes are definitely heightened. “I think our Canadian athletes are focused on the matter at hand, which is doing everything they can do to compete in their best at these Games,” said the COC's chief executive David Shoemaker. "Their rivalry with the United States is one that is decades old in sport, and yet, I think there's a little bit more riding on it." U.S. President Donald Trump's musings about Canada becoming the "51st state" helped fuel a defiant rallying cry of "elbows up" – an ice hockey term that has become shorthand for Canadians pushing back. And the political climate has added an unmistakable edge to North America's sporting showdown in Italy. "We'll certainly see that (the fierce rivalry) at the hockey games and other sport venues … but our women's hockey team, for example, they know what's at stake when they compete against the U.S. that is the best rivalry, and we're looking forward to seeing it." Canada are the defending champions and have won five of the Olympic titles since women's ice hockey made its Olympic debut in 1988 in Nagano, with the U.S. claiming the other two. The Canadian men have won nine Olympic gold medals in ice hockey while the Americans have won two. Both countries were kept off the podium at the 2022 Games, with Finland capturing gold followed by the Russian Olympic Committee and Slovakia. Meanwhile, the COC's Chief of Sport Eric Myles gave an update on snowboarder Mark McMorris who suffered a crash that put his status for the big air event in doubt. Myles said McMorris is 'good' with the COC to make a decision by 4 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on whether the three-times bronze medallist could participate in the qualifying rounds that kick off on Thursday evening in the ski town of Livigno. (Production: Irene Wang, Conal Quinn)
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