In a dramatic Big Final at this weekend’s World Cup Ski Cross event at San Mosino, Italy, Canadian ski cross mainstay Andrew Spinner narrowly beat out teammate Cedric Berard to scoop up the final remaining spot on the Canadian ski cross team for the men’s event in Milano-Cortina next month. Spinner finished second and Berard finished third in Sunday’s final. Berard only needed to finish in the top three to make the team, but with only one spot left on the roster and Spinner finishing this year’s qualifying period with more World Cup points, Berard finds himself on the outside looking in.
“It’s disappointing,” said Berard after the race, “to work for something and not get it. But Andrew’s an amazing competitor and a great teammate. I’m really happy for him and everyone else. They’ve all worked really hard to get where they are.”
Spinner, set to appear in his second Olympics after missing the 2022 games in Beijing due to injury, echoed Berard’s sentiments.
“We’ve all worked hard this season, and Cedric and I knew that it was make or break going into this weekend. But all you can do is focus on the next turn and the next race.”
The other Canadians at the event included Matthieu Girard, who finished eighth, and Kage Harrison, who came eleventh in quarter-final action. Fellow teammate Austin Grimm was slated to race, after staging what some are calling a miraculous comeback following a tragic injury last year after the end of the World Cup season. However, Grimm was a last-minute withdrawal for this weekend’s event.
“My doctors said I’m ready,” Grimm said on Friday. “But we’re being careful. I’ve been doing practice runs and feeling good. I’ll be ready to go by the time we get to Italy.”
World Ski News Article, February 1, 2026
Canadian Ski Cross Team in Turmoil After Drug Test Bomb
The Canadian men’s ski cross team is facing yet another shakeup only days ahead of the start of the Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy. The composition of the men’s team has been in flux since 23-year-old World Cup winner Austin Grimm experienced a major accident in the off-season. Although he had already qualified to represent his country in Milan, his spot on the team was in question for most of the last ten months while he worked to come back from several major fractures and more.
Now, although Grimm is being celebrated as a miracle comeback story, it’s his teammate Andrew Spinner who is in the spotlight following a positive drug test result after last weekend’s World Cup race at San Mosino.
“There’s been an error,” says Team Canada ski cross head coach Ivan Bondarenko. “We are confident in our trainers and athletes. Andrew has been very serious about not taking anykind of medication that would jeopardize his qualification at the Olympics.”
Spinner wouldn’t be the first athlete to get caught up in a pre-games drug scandal, even inadvertently. Past Canadians who were suddenly disqualified from competition over a positive drug test result include ski jumper Naomi Mackenzie-Miller and short track speed skater Olivier LaRochelle. Both were later reinstated when the results were shown to be a lab error in Mackenzie-Miller’s case and the result of a mislabeled over-the-counter allergy medication LaRochelle had taken before a World Tour event.
With Spinner’s appeal before the Sports Commission but so little time before the Olympics kick off, it’s uncertain if he will be cleared to compete. In the event he is not, Canadian teammate Cedric Berard was able to score enough World Cup Points to compete in ski cross in Spinner’s place.
CHAPTER
TEN
When I was a kid,I remember watching the Olympic opening ceremonies in Vancouver on TV with my family. There were fireworks. And dancers. Then the athletes entered. I was amazed. I had no idea there were so many countries in the world. And when the Canadians walked in at the very end? I knew right then that was what I wanted from my life. I wanted to walk in that parade in my team uniform, waving a little red and white flag while smiling at the camera. Representing my country. Standing with my teammates. Being celebrated for doing something most people would never even hope to be able to do.
My experience of the first day at the Olympics is completely different from that childhood dream.
For one, I arrive the day after the opening ceremonies. And I’m alone, flying in on a commercial flight jammed with tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite athlete or finally see their favourite sport live.
“If you want the spot, you have to come now.”
That’s what Ivan said when he called me the day before yesterday. I was at home, getting ready to head out to the gym. Just because I didn’t qualify doesn’t mean I get time off. Thereare still five more World Cup events after the games, and with my shitty start to the season, I have a lot of ground to make up.
But then the phone rang and my week changed.
I feel bad for Spinner. There’s no way he took something intentionally. He doesn’t even drink coffee and talks about sugar the way my mom talks about heroin—if she ever talked about heroin. But whatever happened, he’s stuck until the commission finishes their investigation, and no amount of me graciously going “but it’s not my team spot to take” will change the fact he’ll have to wait four more years to get another shot at the Olympics.
After my anonymous flight to Italy, I expect to be greeted with little or no ceremony at the airport. Ivan promised there would be a driver to pick me up, but instead, the second I step through the sliding doors after customs and baggage claim, I’m swarmed with shouted questions and camera flashes that make me shield my eyes as I try to understand what’s going on. The questions come in what feels like a million different languages, but finally a few in English and French filter through.
“Did you speak to Andrew Spinner before you left Canada?”
“How do you feel about Austin Grimm’s comeback?”
“Do you think you have a shot at the podium given your late arrival?”
I blink, mouth falling open. In between physical training sessions, we’re occasionally given media training too, and I know the guys who made the Olympics had a more intensive session in the last few weeks before they left. But since I was on the outside looking in, I only know the basics. Stay positive, focus on the future, don’t comment on anything controversial. Andrew’s situation is clearly off the table. But Austin? I’m not sure.
An arm slips through mine, pulling me swiftly through the throng of reporters.
“Keep your head down,” Tara says. During the off-season, she made the transition from brands to media relations, and while I’ll always be a little afraid of her, right now I’m so grateful to see her.
“I thought I was looking for a driver.”
