Meet the Hamilton, Burlington and St. Catharines athletes going to the Milano-Cortina Olympics
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As the Milano-Cortina Olympics start this week, people in Hamilton, Burlington, Ont., and St. Catharines, Ont., will have local athletes to cheer for.
Here are the area Olympians donning helmets and lacing up skates to represent Canada in Italy.
Toronto Sceptres forward Emma Maltais, right, chips the puck past Seattle Torrent defender Emily Brown, left, during the third period of a PWHL hockey game, on Jan. 20 in Seattle. (Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press)
Emma Maltais is back for her second Olympics with the women’s hockey team after her 2022 gold-medal win.
The 26-year-old Burlington resident is a forward with the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres. She’s developed a reputation as a top trash talker in the league.
Canada’s Taylor Austin, Mike Evelyn, Keaton Bruggeling and Shaq Murray-Lawrence load the sled in the second heat of the four-man bobsled race during the March 2025 bobsled world championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Seth Wenig/The Associated Press)
Men’s bobsleigh athlete Keaton Bruggeling is making his Olympic debut.
The 27-year-old from St. Catharines may already be known to some as a CFL receiver. He played three seasons for the Ottawa Redblacks before joining the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The TiCats announced they re-signed him on Feb. 2.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats wide receiver Keaton Bruggeling celebrates a touchdown during first half pre-season CFL football action against the Toronto Argonauts in Guelph, Ont., on May 30. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press)Madeline Schizas performs her free program in the women’s figure skating competition at the 2026 Canadian National Skating Championships in Gatineau, Que., on Jan. 11. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Figure skater Madeline Schizas is from Oakville, but the 22-year-old studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, where she’s in the Environment and Society program.
This is her second Olympics. In Beijing in 2022, she contributed to a fourth-place finish in the team event for Canada.
Toronto Sceptres’ Renata Fast (14) keeps the puck from Ottawa Charge’s Sarah Wozniewicz (23) during third period PWHL hockey action in Toronto, on Dec. 4. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press)
Maltais’ Sceptres teammate Renata Fast will also be her Team Canada teammate.
The 31-year-old was a finalist for PWHL top defender and MVP in 2025. She won gold in women’s hockey in Beijing in 2022, and silver at the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018.
The Burlington resident teaches an annual youth hockey camp in that city alongside Maltais.
Vancouver Goldeneyes’ Sarah Nurse (20) celebrates her goal against the Toronto Sceptres during the third period of a PWHL hockey game in Vancouver, on Jan. 22. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press)
Hamilton hockey player Sarah Nurse also has a gold from Beijing and a silver from PyeongChang, South Korea.
The 31-year-old is a well-known representative of the women’s game who boasts Barbie dolls in her likeness and appeared on the cover of EA’s NHL 23 video game.
Nurse is a forward with the PWHL’s Vancouver Goldeneyes but missed much of the season so far due to an arm injury.
She has two Hamilton sports star cousins: Olympian basketball player Kia Nurse and Darnell Nurse, who plays for the Edmonton Oilers.
WATCH | Sarah Nurse looks toward her third Olympics:
Sarah Nurse on achieving excellence, Olympic experiences, and legacy in hockey
The Team Canada veteran sits down with Donnovan Bennett for an in-depth conversation ahead of her third Olympic Games.
