Jennifer Heil set the bar for Canada at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
The decorated skier captured the country's first medal 鈥� and its attention 鈥� with a gold in moguls on the opening day of competition. Now two decades later, she's poised to lead the Canadian team back under the same spotlight in Northern Italy.
The Canadian Olympic Committee named Heil its chef de mission for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games on Tuesday.
鈥淚 was kind of like, 'Holy, 20 years have passed!'鈥� Heil said of her reaction during a video call from her home in Vancouver. 鈥淚t鈥檚 truly a full circle.
"Huge honour to be selected to help lead an Olympic team.鈥�
The chef de mission is an ambassador for the team before and during the Games. Past champions are often chosen for the volunteer position to guide Canada鈥檚 squad.
Sprint star Bruny Surin was Canada's chef for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, while speedskater Catriona Le May Doan 鈥� Heil's idol 鈥� held the role at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
鈥淪ome leaders are chosen for their experience, others for their heart. Jenn brings both,鈥� COC chief sporting officer Eric Myles said in a statement. 鈥淎 perfect mentor for Canadian athletes who will benefit greatly from all that she learned from her own inspiring journey.鈥�
A 2015 inductee into Canada鈥檚 Sports Hall of Fame, Heil made her Olympic debut as an 18-year-old at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and followed up her 2006 gold with a silver at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
She also won four world championships 鈥� including a moguls and dual moguls double in 2011 to cap her career 鈥� and had 58 podium finishes on the World Cup circuit.
Off the snow, she co-founded B2ten, a private sector initiative designed to help Canadian athletes fill the gaps in government funding.
And there鈥檚 more.
In recent years, the 41-year-old from Spruce Grove, Alta., spearheaded the development of B.C.'s Safe Sport program and founded RYA Health, a women's healthtech startup, while studying at Stanford University.
She believes her wide breadth of experiences and commitment to sport make her well-suited to mentor Canadian athletes.
"I've been in developing and building sport all my life,鈥� said Heil, who has also been a commentator on CBC鈥檚 freestyle skiing broadcast team since 2012.
鈥淚've moved on a lot from being a single-focused individual athlete, and so it really did feel like those experiences were just making it the right time to take this on.鈥�
Heil is excited to share what she learned from competing in Italy. Although she hasn鈥檛 set foot in the country since her golden moment, Heil said it 鈥渇eels like yesterday.鈥�
She remembers the joyful people and 鈥渁mazing鈥� hospitality, with Italian restaurateurs treating Canadian athletes like their special guests.
But Heil also recalls how the Canadian team navigated a few moguls off the ski hill due to some disorganization leading up to the Turin Games.
鈥淲e were told to have Plan A, B and C in terms of how we were getting to the venues,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e're expecting some similar experiences to that, based off of just where the venues are at right now, and a little bit of the laissez-faire culture. That is an adaptation point that we need to make.鈥�
The Milan-Cortina Games are the most sprawling Winter Olympics to date, covering an area of more than 22,000 square kilometres, with clusters in Milan, Cortina and three other mountain sites.
That鈥檚 not including a Plan B scenario where bobsled, luge and skeleton competitions take place in Lake Placid, N.Y.
The opening ceremony is less than 11 months away, but the sliding centre in Cortina remains unfinished with a deadline set for the end of March.
"One controllable piece is definitely understanding the nature of the Olympic villages and the venues, how spread out that is,鈥� Heil said. 鈥淭hat's a challenge for the team and the team leaders which can absolutely be tackled.
鈥淭hen it's also making sure that the athletes feel like this is an Olympic Games, that this is a special event.鈥�
Another concern leading up to Milan is the lack of funding for Canadian athletes.
Canada won 26 medals (four gold, eight silver and 14 bronze) to rank fourth overall behind Norway, Russia and Germany in Beijing.
But national sport organizations haven鈥檛 received an increase in core funding 鈥� which assists with operations, athletes, coaches and support staff 鈥� since 2005.
Despite the challenges, Heil called Canada鈥檚 potential roster for 2026 鈥渙ne of the strongest teams that we have ever seen,鈥� but many wonder how long the success can continue.
Heil said it鈥檚 unfortunate that some top competitors have had to pay for their own expenses in the lead-up to the Games.
鈥淚f you're running a business or an economy and you don't invest in it over the long term, you can't be competitive,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur athletes have responded to that challenge, but my concern is I'm not sure how much further we can push it."
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics take place from Feb. 6 to 22.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
