Milano Cortina was supposed to garner the February headlines this year. And while the noises are very much surrounding the 2026 Winter Olympics, most of them are for the wrong reasons. Take for example, the Canadian athlete Reece Howden’s recent experience. Trying to push for the golden glory, Howden was eliminated in the quarterfinals. But before departing from the scene, he dropped some serious allegations. 

“It’s snowing so hard and the track is dead slow. This is a joke. At this point I’m happy I’m not involved in this race because this is ridiculous. This is not ski cross,” said Howden in an interview with CBC. 

Following the conclusion of the men’s ski-cross event, the organizers have faced a significant amount of criticism. Primarily due to the harsh weather conditions. As the event was about to get underway, a severe snowstorm swept through the area. And while it was expected that the event might be postponed, the athletes were asked to carry on with their game. 

And this is what perhaps put the World Cup season champion off his game. Trying to battle through the snowstorm, the 27-year-old leader of the season standings failed to navigate his path correctly. Lashing at the authorities, Howden also pointed out how he was glad that he was leaving Italy.  

However, in the organizer’s defence, a lot of events have already been rescheduled or postponed. With the tournament coming to an end soon, postponing more events might have messed up the schedule. 

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

As a matter of fact, this is not the first time that the conditions at Milano Cortina have come under the scanner. Team USA skating sensation Ilia Malinin fell twice in his routine. Later on, looking back on his performance, Malinin told the New York Times that the ice was not in its best condition. 

Next up, the mixed team relay event saw Team USA suffer an unfortunate crash. While it knocked them out of the medal contention, multiple skaters blamed the ‘soft and slushy’ ice for their downfall. Canadian speed skater Steven Dubois too, criticized the ice. Speaking with CTV, Dubois termed the conditions as “probably the worst ice of the year we’ve had.”

Surprisingly, despite the ice getting so much flak, USA flagbearer for the 2026 games, Erin Jackson had a completely different stance on the same. 

Winter Olympian Erin Jackson makes stance clear on the ongoing ice controversy 

Becoming the first Black US speed skater to win an Olympic gold in Beijing 2022, Jackson hoped to replicate her heroics again. Unfortunately, while she ended with a 5th place finish in the women’s 500m, the 33-year-old was not ready to blame it on the ice.

In an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports’ Shreya Verma, Jackson stated, “No, I think we were really fortunate over with the long track side because we are the only people using our ice sheet. I think the issue, like I never skated on the other venues, so I don’t know personally, but from what I was hearing, the issue was that the figure skaters and the short track speed skaters were sharing the same ice sheet.”

She further added, “Our first few days when we arrived in Milan, the ice wasn’t perfect then. But as we moved through the practice days, it kept getting better and better. And by the time we got to the race days, the ice was really, really great.”

Clearing the air, the US icon stated that in most cases, athletes had to share the ice. And this meant that the condition and the quality of the ice changed rapidly with each use. Following the same reason, the ice makers, too, had a tough time going back and forth, significantly impacting the ice. 

However, with the organizers in the firing line, fans will now be eager to see if the IOC comes up with a public statement regarding the ice fiasco.