MILAN — The double-touching scandal that plagued his country’s curling team was like “a foot fault in tennis or traveling in basketball,” the CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee said on Sunday.
David Shoemaker, who is also the committee’s secretary general, was asked by The Associated Press about the controversy a day after the Canadian men swept aside the cheating allegations to claim gold at the Milan Cortina Games.
He said it “was not cheating.”
“For me it’s like a foot fault in tennis or traveling in basketball,” Shoemaker added. “If LeBron James takes four steps on the way to the hoop, I wouldn’t say LeBron James is a cheater.
“I understand the furor that’s erupted on social media, but that part is not fair and hopefully we will see that go away.”
While there are officials to rule on foot faults in tennis and traveling in basketball, curling is mostly self-umpired. So the sport was sent into turmoil during the round-robin phase when Oskar Eriksson of Sweden accused Canada vice skip Marc Kennedy of touching the rock again after initially releasing it down the sheet of ice. Kennedy responded with an outburst full of expletives.
“Marc Kennedy probably regrets his choice of words,” Shoemaker said. “And he’ll find the time and place to express that sentiment beyond what he’s privately shared with his teammates and his family and the rest of us.”
Footage circulating online appeared to show Kennedy touching the granite stone with his outstretched finger after he had already released it.
Kennedy received a verbal warning from governing body World Curling a day after the feisty back-and-forth with the Swedish team, when fingers were pointed and the Canadian player repeatedly swore.
After receiving his gold medal, Kennedy said that he doesn’t know “if people will ever understand what we went through this week as a team — what I put them through this week as a team.
“I let my emotions get the best of me,” Kennedy added. “I stood up for my teammates. I’ll never back down from that. We moved on, we moved forward and we did something amazing and a weaker team would have fell flat on their face.”
2030 French Alps Winter Olympics: The way-too-early preview
The 2030 Olympics will begin on Feb. 1, 2030 — the earliest opening ceremony date since 1964. Alex Martin/Getty Images
ESPN
For a little over two weeks in northern Italy, Olympic stars from Mikaela Shiffrin to Alysa Liu to Elana Meyers Taylor to Jordan Stolz wowed us, while we all became experts on curling ethics and ice dance twizzles.
On Sunday, a handover ceremony will take place, and a flag will be passed to representatives of French Alps 2030. Like the Milan Cortina Games, the 2030 Olympics will be spread throughout the country — and possibly speedskating will even be held in the Netherlands or Italy.
Advertising
Although it’s way too early to make predictions, that has never stopped us before. Here’s what to expect from the 2030 Olympics.
The United States will enter as gold-medal favorites in women’s hockey
Editor’s Picks
2026 Winter Olympics: The Games as told by photos from each day
A gold medal 46 years in the making: Inside Team USA’s epic win over Canada
Who makes Team USA in men’s hockey at the 2030 Olympics?
USA-Canada has been one of the best rivalries in sports, but in these Olympics, the ice seemed tilted very much in the Americans’ favor for the first time. Yes, Canada played its hearts out in the gold medal game, a 2-1 OT win by the U.S. But if you paid attention in the lead-up and during the Games, it’s clear Team USA is building a potential dynasty.
Canada could have some growing pains this cycle considering it brought such a heavily veteran team to Milan. USA breakout Olympic stars Caroline Harvey (tournament MVP), Abbey Murphy and Laila Edwards are all 23 or younger and would have been the youngest players on Team Canada. Aerin Frankel allowed just two goals on 99 shots and set the Olympic record for most shutouts (three). She’ll return as a 31-year-old in France. Then there’s Taylor Heise (25), Hannah Bilka (24) and Tessa Janecke (21). This crop of players is just getting started. — Emily Kaplan
Megan Keller’s goal in overtime gave the gold medal to the United States and capped an Olympic tournament in which Team USA gave up only two goals, tying the fewest in a single Olympics by any women’s hockey team. EPA/Fazry Ismail
… But men’s hockey will have much more parity
Who will challenge Canada and the U.S. in men’s hockey? We’ve been asking this on the women’s side for years, and the gap just doesn’t seem like it’s closing. On the men’s side, there are plenty of contenders. Sweden and Finland are already world powers, but their 2026 Olympic tournaments were derailed in part by some questionable coaching decisions. The Czechs didn’t play to their potential until their elimination game against Canada. The Germans had a disappointing Olympics but have too much talent to go out this quietly again. Switzerland is on the rise. The scouting report on Latvia was that it played hard. And the biggest breakout star is Slovakia, whose roster features three recent top-10 draft picks (Juraj Slafkovsky, Dalibor Dvorsky and Simon Nemec) and seems to be just getting started. The 2030 field should be a juicy one. — Kaplan
Freeride skiing and snowboarding will debut
The IOC plans to announce the program for French Alps 2030 in June, and it’s likely that freeride — skiing and snowboarding on natural, ungroomed, steep terrain — will make its debut in four years.
“It is the original ski discipline,” Freeride World Tour CEO Nicolas Hale-Woods told ESPN. “To our eyes and to the eyes of a lot of skiers and snowboarders, it’s the most complete and inspirational discipline. It’s beautiful to watch and it’s thrilling to perform.”
Hale-Woods said the proposed program will feature 16 men and 16 women in both ski and snowboard, and the qualifying will work similarly to surfing. American Mia Jones, 20, the daughter of big-mountain snowboard pioneer and Protect Our Winters founder Jeremy Jones, won the inaugural FIS Freeride World Championship in women’s snowboarding earlier this month.
Cross-country running, cyclocross and ice climbing are also being considered for 2030. — Alyssa Roenigk
The American men will return to the podium in snowboard halfpipe
With hungry, young powerhouses such as Alessandro Barbieri pushing the veterans and inspiring the development riders, the future looks bright.
“I’ll take this as motivation, and I won’t let it crumble me,” Barbieri said after the halfpipe final in Livigno, where he finished 10th.
Only 17, Barbieri already has two triple corks and a run that could have placed him on the podium, had he landed a clean run. “I’ll be back stronger and more motivated to win,” he says of 2030. — Roenigk
Seventeen-year-old Alessandro Barbieri could be the future of American snowboarding. Mine Kasapoglu/Anadolu via Getty Images
Expect more crossover athletes
Eileen Gu of China is the only woman in freeskiing who’s competing in halfpipe, slopestyle and big air. American freeskier Nick Goepper won three medals in slopestyle before retiring, switching to halfpipe and competing in Milan Cortina. Ester Ledecka competes in parallel giant slalom on a snowboard and in giant slalom on alpine skis — and she has won gold on both.
Young athletes are growing up with this as their reality. “Don’t wait until you’re older. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Do it now,” Gu said after taking silver in slopestyle last week. “Do everything now.” — Roenigk
Ilia Malinin will be back and ready for gold
After his devastating free skate in the individual event, Malinin said he would learn from the experience and be better prepared if given the chance to compete at the Games again. As the two-time reigning world champion and still capable of elements — hello, quadruple axel! — that no one else can do, it seems likely he will have that chance in 2030. It is safe to say he will look for ways to improve mentally in the meantime, as much as physically, and will be more ready for the pressure and the attention the next time around. — D’Arcy Maine
Ilia Malinin helped secure the U.S. team gold, but struggled individually in Milan. EPA/WU HAO
The figure skating team event will get some tweaks
With just one day between the team event conclusion and the start of the individual ice dance competition, and with the men’s singles starting one day later, it seems clear something has to give in terms of scheduling. Although Malinin didn’t blame having to compete four times in six days for his ultimate eighth-place result, it’s hard to think it wasn’t at least a factor.
If the ISU and the Olympics want to continue getting the best skaters to compete in the team event, they will need to take action to ensure proper rest and recovery — and that it doesn’t affect the individual performances. — Maine
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik are the future of American ice dance
Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ status in the sport is unknown, but it seems clear the country will be well represented in the discipline going forward. Competing in their first Olympics following a breakout season, Zingas, 23, and Kolesnik, 24, finished in a surprising fifth place — an anomaly for such a new team — and ahead of teams that have been together for over a decade. Anything can happen in four years, but Zingas and Kolesnik dominating this next quad and ending up on the podium in 2030 feels increasingly likely. — Maine
Who makes Team USA in men’s hockey at the 2030 Olympics?
P.K. Subban is full of praise for Team USA men’s hockey after it defeated Canada to win the gold medal. (2:07)
Greg Wyshynski
The 2026 Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournament has ended with Team USA players wearing gold medals around their necks.
That means it’s time to start thinking about who will represent the United States at the 2030 tournament in the French Alps — keeping in mind that the NHL and the NHLPA agreed to send players to those Games in their collective bargaining agreement.
Predictably, many of the players who battled Canada in the gold medal game Sunday will be back for more in France. But due to the age of some players and the maturation of the next wave of American stars, there will be roster turnover.
We’ve organized the candidates for the 2030 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team into several tiers and included how old they’ll be when that tournament plays out. Who makes the cut for the next shot at Olympic glory?
Illustration by ESPN
Eichel and the Tkachuks played on the same line for coach Mike Sullivan. Matthews was the team captain, and it’s hard to imagine Team USA without him provided he’s still scoring goals at his current clip in the NHL. Quinn Hughes was Team USA’s best all-around defenseman, and Werenski was in the conversation, too. McAvoy was usually second to Hughes in average ice time during the tournament.
That fact that Jack Hughes’ status was never in question for the 2026 team is a testament to how much Team USA values his singular talents. He battled through injuries in the NHL regular season. He looked lost as a winger at 4 Nations. But he rewarded that faith but being one of the team’s most productive offensive forces in Milan, looking more like Patrick Kane 2.0 than a center flailing on the wing. And of course, scoring the golden goal to win the tournament helps.
Jack Hughes started on the fourth line but played his way up to skate with Larkin. The Red Wings center followed up his outstanding 4 Nations tournament with an Olympic run filled with huge moments. Eichel, Matthews and Larkin gave the Americans some of their best center depth ever on a national team, and they could run the trio back in 2030.
Thompson was potentially the only player whose “lock” status I had a question about. Unlike everyone else here, Thompson wasn’t named to the 4 Nations roster. He used that snub as motivation to stake a claim on an Olympic spot, and his worthiness became undeniable: From the end of 4 Nations to the beginning of the Olympics, only Nathan MacKinnon (51) scored more goals than the Sabres star (48). His play in the 2026 Games only bolstered his case.
Strong candidates from 2026
Boldy was a borderline lock based on his play at 4 Nations and in the 2026 Games. He was one of the leading shooters on Team USA, and wasn’t afraid to go to the tough parts of the ice to generate those shots. He’s seventh in points among American-born player over the last two seasons (135 in 136 games) and figures to be a part of Team USA going forward.
All of ESPN. All in one place.
Watch your favorite events in the newly enhanced ESPN App. Learn more about what plan is right for you. Sign Up Now
Faber and Sanderson played regularly on the American blue line at the Olympics. Faber took his place next to Jaccob Slavin, as he did at 4 Nations. That’s the tournament where Sanderson replaced an injured Quinn Hughes and ended up scoring in their championship game loss to Canada.
LaCombe was added to the roster as an injury replacement for Seth Jones and didn’t see the ice during the tournament. That’s less about his abilities than it is about the Americans having the best depth in the tournament on the blue line. LaCombe has just scratched the surface of his talents in the NHL. His selection, and this experience in Italy, felt very much designed for LaCombe to have a role in 2030.
There’s little reason to believe that Oettinger won’t still be one of the NHL’s best goaltenders four years from now, which is one reason he’ll be strongly considered for the 2030 roster. It was curious that he didn’t see the ice in group play but was the backup during the medal round.
