Notable quotes from the Milan Cortina Olympics: Feb. 16, 2026

MILAN – Here are some notable quotes from the Milan Cortina Olympics on Feb. 16, 2026:

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“Hockey’s not easy. We’re at the Winter Olympics. Everybody wants to win. 

“We’re going to the gold-medal game. We won this game, we scratched, we clawed, we battled hard. We got a lot of shots. We’ve got to find a way to put a few more in, but at the end the day the gold medal is going to be a battle.”

— Canadian forward Laura Stacey after Canada’s 2-1 semifinal win over Switzerland in women’s hockey.

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“The only limits you have are the ones that you set on yourself, even though everybody loves to try to put limits on me because I’m 42. I don’t believe in any of those, only I can put limits of myself.

“I might see you again in four years.”

— Canadian figure Deanna Stellato-Dudek on whether she’ll compete in another Olympics.

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“Honestly, this has been an Olympics that has totally surpassed my dreams. I wanted to come home with one medal, and to come home with gold is something I never thought was possible. So, I’m so proud of myself.”

— Canadian freestyle skier Megan Oldham after winning gold in the women’s big air competition. 

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“The word cheating came out of nowhere. It has nothing to do with cheating. There’s no chance that Canadians would ever intentionally cheat. I’d put my life on that.

“Things happen. People burn rocks. People go over the hog line. That’s just part of the sport. Like any sport, there’s judges and reviews to make sure everything stays within how it’s supposed to be played, and that’s all there is to it.”

— Curler Rachel Homan, on suggestions Canada was cheating after “double-touching” the rock during delivery.

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“The whole spirit of curling is dead, unfortunately. 

“This whole trying to catch people in the act of an infraction and (doing) anything to win a medal, it sucks.

“The powers that be probably will have to take a real good look at this and really solidify the rules going forward.”

— Curler Marc Kennedy, on whether the controversy around his so-called double-touch of the rock during Canada’s match against Sweden will change the sport.

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“There’s been a lot of negative words thrown around. But when you actually look at everything that’s gone on, and you consider how many eyeballs and clicks and everything turned to curling over the last, say, 48 to 72 hours, it’s probably the best thing ever for our sport.”

— Canadian curling skip Brad Jacobs on the controversy over double-touching.

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“I made a mistake. I didn’t execute my race as well as I had hoped. I really wanted to win and take home the gold … but I’d rather make a mistake in my final and get silver than not get a medal at all.”

— Canada’s Courtney Sarault, on seizing silver in the women’s 1,000-metre short-track speedskating final, her third medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

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“We have a lot of experience in the relay. For us, it’s about just using that experience, staying calm in any situation and trying to do our best to move forward.

“We skated great, and I’m proud of my team.”

— Short-track speedskater William Dandjinou, after helping secure Canada’s spot in the men’s 5,000 relay final this Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2026.