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Here are some of the top Canadian and international storylines to follow:
Freestyle skiing: The moguls GOAT returns
In the world of moguls skiing, Mikaël Kingsbury is the undisputed greatest of all time. The Canadian’s 90 World Cup wins are easily the most by anyone in the history of the sport, and he’s finished on the podium in an astounding 129 of his 151 career World Cup starts. Kingsbury has also won eight world titles along with an Olympic gold medal and a pair of silvers.
But there’s a threat to his crown. Japan’s Ikuma Horishima took the World Cup men’s moguls title from Kingsbury last season, clipping him 610-600 in the season-long points standings to capture his first crystal globe. Kingsbury retained the less-prestigious dual moguls and overall globes, so he’ll be looking to reunify the titles as a new World Cup season opens Saturday in Finland.
Crystal globes aren’t the only focus for Kingsbury as he launches his 16th World Cup season. He recently became a father, and three-month-old Henrik will be in tow with Kingsbury and his partner this weekend. “It changes your life, that’s for sure,” Kingsbury, 32, said this week. “But… it brings a beautiful balance to my career.” Here’s more on how dad life is treating him.
WATCH | Kingsbury shows off his impressive medal haul:
Kingsbury shows off his impressive collection of awards and how he has used them at times…as a drinking cup.
Alpine skiing: Shiffrin goes for her 100th win
Speaking of GOATs, the all-time leader in World Cup alpine wins can reach an unprecedented milestone this weekend. American star Mikaela Shiffrin is one victory away from becoming the first member of the century club as the tour shifts to Vermont for a pair of races.
Saturday’s giant slalom and Sunday’s slalom are both in Shiffrin’s wheelhouse. 84 of her 99 victories have come in these events — including 62 in the slalom, where she’s 2-for-2 so far this season.
Canada’s Laurence St-Germain will try to challenge Shiffrin in the slalom after finishing 10th and 11th in the first two races. In the giant slalom, two-time World Cup winner Valérie Grenier will compete for the first time since a devastating crash ended her season last January.
WATCH | CBC Sports previews weekend in Canadian Olympic sports:
Our CBC Sports team previews the weekend on CBCSports.ca, featuring the PWHL opener, Mikaela Shiffrin’s bid for her 100th World Cup win, and Mikaël Kingsbury starting his moguls season.
Speed skating: Canadians try for more medals in Beijing
The second stop on the long track World Cup tour is taking place at the Ice Ribbon in the Chinese capital, where Canadians won five medals at the 2022 Olympics. They were shut out today, though, as Ivanie Blondin’s eighth-place finish in the women’s 1,500m was the best Canada could muster on Day 1. American star Jordan Stolz won the men’s 500m and 1,500m events after opening the season with four individual golds last week in Japan.
Racing continues Saturday and Sunday, including the women’s 3,000m and mass start events for Blondin. She took gold and silver in those last week along with a bronze in the mixed relay, accounting for three of Canada’s four medals at the World Cup opener.
Rugby sevens: Canadian women kick off a new season
Coming off their surprising silver medal at the Paris Olympics, the Canadian women’s team opens the 2024-25 SVNS Series in Dubai.
Canada finished fifth in the standings last season before shocking No. 2 Australia in the Olympic semifinals and giving top-ranked New Zealand a run for its money in the gold-medal game. Four players from the Olympic run — Piper Logan, Carissa Norsten, Asia Hogan-Rochester and Shalaya Valenzuela — are on Canada’s roster for the SVNS opener.
The Canadian men’s team is trying to work its way back into the SVNS series after finishing 12th last season, resulting in relegation to a lower tier.
Other stuff to watch:
* The Grand Slam of Curling series continues with the National in St. John’s. At our publish time, Canada’s Rachel Homan and Kerri Einarson were two of the undefeated women’s skips, while Brad Jacobs and Mike McEwen were among the unbeatens on the men’s side. The group stage concludes tonight, and the women’s and men’s finals both take place Sunday.
* World Cup big air competition continues in Beijing with ski and snowboard events on Sunday. Canadian skier Dylan Deschamps took bronze at last month’s season opener in Switzerland, and today he qualified for Sunday’s men’s final.
* The luge World Cup season opens in Lillehammer. Canada’s top athlete last season was Trinity Ellis, who finished 16th in the women’s overall standings.
How to watch:
You can stream many of the events in today’s viewing guide live on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, with additional coverage on the CBC TV network. Here’s our full broadcast and streaming schedule.
