At the end of any pro sports season, some of the most fun conversations circle around individual awards.
Think Drake Maye vs. Matt Stafford for MVP, or the Nikola Jokic-Joel Embiid battles of years past.
In the Olympics, individual honours outside of wins and losses don’t quite exist in that way, and the ones that do — hockey tournament MVP, for example — don’t necessarily carry the same meaning.
However, there is Sunday’s closing ceremony, where someone will carry Canada’s flag to mark the end of these Milano-Cortina Games
Getting tapped for that job is an honour and a reward for a standout Games. Isabelle Weidemann did the job in 2022 after earning a medal of each colour.
It is also the closest we can come in the Olympics to debating an award.
There are some ground rules: Canada will select someone or multiple people who have never carried the flag before, eliminating the likes of Mikael Kingsbury (2026 opening) and Marie-Philip Poulin (2022 opening) from contention. Traditionally, Canada has picked one flag-bearer for the closing ceremony, but it moved to two (Summer McIntosh and Ethan Katzberg) at Paris 2024.
It is also extremely likely not to be a men’s hockey player, given that the gold-medal game takes place the morning of the closing ceremony. (Sorry, Mitch Marner.)
With that in mind, here are Canada’s top candidates:
Courtney Sarault (two silver, two bronze)
The likely favourite for the job, the speedskater from Moncton, N.B., is one of just four Canadians to ever claim four medals at one Olympics, joining fellow speedskater Cindy Klassen (five, 2006) and swimmers Summer McIntosh (four, 2024) and Penny Oleksiak (four, 2016).
Sarault, 25, has yet to miss the podium in Italy after going 0-for-4 at her Olympic debut in Beijing four years ago. If she were to get the flag-bearer nod, she’d be the third consecutive speedskater to do so for Canada, following teammate Kim Boutin in 2018 and long tracker Isabelle Weidemann in 2022.
Megan Oldham (one gold, one bronze)
The 24-year-old from Parry Sound, Ont., has followed the ideal development timeline: after fourth- and 13th-place finishes four years ago in Beijing, Oldham will leave Italy with a gold medal in ski big air and bronze in slopestyle. Oldham’s victory was a bit of a surprise, as she upset Chinese superstar Eileen Gu to top the podium, taking down the biggest name in her sport.
Armed with that gold and two podiums in two tries, there are essentially no holes to poke in Oldham’s resumé, making her as worthy a choice as any.
Valerie Maltais (one gold, one bronze) and Ivanie Blondin (one gold)
Two-thirds of the team-pursuit squad that defended its gold medal, either speed skater would join teammate Weidemann in having received the closing-ceremony flag-bearer nod. Maltais banked her individual bronze early in the Olympics in the women’s 5,000.
Both Canadians will return to the ice Saturday for the mass start, where they are both contenders. Blondin, in particular, won silver in 2022 and followed it up with three second-place finishes at three world championships since then. If she can take a step up the podium here, she’d be the only Canadian to leave Italy with two gold medals.
Steven Dubois (one gold, one silver)
Dubois is the only Canadian man other than Kingsbury to capture a gold medal so far at these Olympics. The 28-year-old short tracker from Terrebonne, Que., crossed the line first in the 500 metres, dominating what is known to be a chaotic race with ease. Add the mixed-team relay silver, and Dubois’s resumé is impeccable.
Canada also tends to honour career greatness in choosing flag-bearers, and Dubois now owns five medals after taking one of each colour at his debut in Beijing. A worthy candidate, and a natural choice to slot in next to teammate Sarault if that’s the decision.
Brad Jacobs (medal colour TBD)
Jacobs leading Team Canada into the closing ceremony would close the loop on a tumultuous period in curling — especially if he were to win the country’s first gold medal in the men’s or women’s events since he also did so in 2014.
The Jacobs rink was forced to overcome adversity in Italy too after it was accused of double-touching by Team Sweden, leading to a days-long scandal that even broached fellow Canadian Rachel Homan. If Jacobs and co. rebound from that ignominy to top the podium, it would make a compelling flag-bearer case.
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (one bronze)
The hardware for Canada’s latest heart-throb ice-dance duo isn’t quite there, as they head home with just the bronze medal from two events. But the meaning behind that bronze is perhaps as powerful as any single medal Canada won at these Games.
Gilles and Poirier, in potentially their last Olympics at 34 years old, finally stepped onto the podium for the first time in three Olympics. Gilles recovered from ovarian cancer in 2023 to make it back to top-end competitive figure skating. And no one will soon forget the electric, emotional end to the free dance, with the pair embracing each other in tears after nailing their program. The scene will perhaps stand as the lasting memory from these Olympics for Canada — it would only be fitting if Gilles and Poirier carried Canada’s flag to end it.