Life inside the Olympic Village: My Milan Cortina experience
The two most common questions I’ve been asked since returning from the Olympics are: “What was the Olympic Village like?” and “What was your favourite moment of the Olympics?” Funny enough, those two questions capture most of my experience.
Milan Cortina was my second Olympics. My first was in Beijing during COVID, and as you can imagine, the experiences were very different. Two of the most exciting parts of the Olympics, in my opinion, are exploring the Village and interacting with athletes from around the world, and seeing your family at the bottom of the race course. Neither of those things happened in Beijing due to restrictions, but they absolutely did in Italy.
When we first arrived at the Village, members of the Canadian Olympic Committee greeted us and helped us with our bags, which in our sport is quite a few. All of our equipment had to go through security scanners, and we passed through metal detectors before entering the Village. After that, we loaded our bags onto carts, had our accreditations scanned, and made our way to our rooms. At these Olympics, the temporary Village was made from converted storage containers, so the walkways between rows of rooms were outdoors. The rooms were small but cozy, and just big enough to fit most of our gear, although a few bags ended up living in the bathroom.
Our next stop was a welcome meeting and tour from the Canadian Olympic Committee, where we were briefed on everything from cafeteria hours to safety information. After that, we headed straight to the dining hall, which is open 24/7. My teammate and I didn’t waste any time starting our pin trading during our first meal, sitting with athletes from Japan and Great Britain. Canadian pins are always a hit. The Village also had a small but very well-equipped Team Canada gym, a larger public gym for all athletes, and a Team Canada lounge stocked with North American snacks and TVs to watch other Olympic events.
In Cortina, we shared the Village with athletes from bobsled, luge, skeleton, and curling, which meant we got to learn a lot about these sports just by chatting with our teammates. That was one of my favourite parts of the experience. There were also some fun spaces designed for athletes to relax and socialize. One highlight was the Coca-Cola room, which had games like foosball and air hockey, a photo booth, and even a machine where you could print your name and photo on a Coca-Cola can. There was also a Corona Zero lounge where athletes could unwind together and enjoy a non-alcoholic beer.
When race day arrived, beyond the nerves that come with standing in the start gate, I was incredibly excited to compete in front of my family and friends, something that wasn’t possible during the Beijing Olympics. As I crossed the finish line, I immediately heard cheering and looked up to see a big group of Canadians celebrating, with my family right in the middle of it. Most alpine skiing races take place in Europe, which makes it difficult for family to attend, so this was the first international race where my whole family could be there.
After watching the rest of my teammates finish, I went to find them and was met with so much excitement and support. It made the moment even more special.
Beyond the people who were there in person, the support we received from afar, through social media and from our home communities, was incredible. It reminded me how lucky I am to represent Canada and to have so many people cheering from home.
Competing at the Olympics takes an incredible amount of support behind the scenes, and I’m especially grateful to Westland for being part of that journey. Their support throughout my Olympic season helped make it possible for me to compete on the world stage and focus on performing at my best. Having partners like Westland who believe in Canadian athletes makes experiences like this possible.
Photo credit: Kara Delaney
