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Wednesday marks six months until the start of the 2026 winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina. The United States team will renew its winter rivalry with Canada during the first Olympic Games in a new geopolitical landscape in North America.
The American skiing medalist, Alex Ferreira, entering his third winter games, told PK Press Club Digital that he had always seen Canada as one of the greatest rivals in his country in his sport, alongside New Zealand.
“New Zealand and Canada are the two largest rivals,” said Ferreira, saying Canadian Brendan Mackay as one of his best individual rivals.
“Some of the most intense competitions I had with some of the Canadians were in 2023, the Bakuriani, Georgia, the world championships with Brendan Mackay and myself. Brendan ended up winning. … Brendan really skied there.”
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But, in 2026, Ferreira thinks that the rivalry will burn “probably” even warmer, citing the tensions created by the recent American prices imposed on Canadian products earlier this year.
“Probably, because what [President Donald] Trump says the prices and everything, I’m sure there is a little rivalry there. But, certainly Canadians, as Brendan improves every day. I train myself every day. So I think we really want to win, “said Ferreira.
“You just want to represent your country as best as possible, and being American, I come, of course, I want to win. They are our neighbors in the North, and they are great people. But I want to beat them.”
Alex Ferreira of the United States won the bronze medal at the Fis Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships on March 30, 2025, in England, Switzerland. (Millo Moravski / Agency Zoom / Getty Images)
Ferreira knows the Canadian slopes that her rival uses to train. He participated in the Windsport Park in Calgary every year in recent years for competitions and the famous ski hills in Whistler.
But Ferreira believes that the tracks of Colorado are “more intense” and will give him and other Americans an advantage when the time comes to compete in Milano Cortina. Men’s ski competitions will take place in Livigno, which, according to Ferreira, is more similar in Colorado than Canada.
“Yeah, definitely [Colorado slopes] are a little more intense, without a doubt. What I would say is more intense in Canada, it is certainly the cold. It is definitely Nippy up there. It’s freezing, “said Ferreira. It is certainly more similar in Colorado than for Canada.”
Ferreira says he invited Canadian rivals, including Mackay, Colorado to train together, and they invited him to Canada to do the same, but none of the games has ever agreed to meet it.
“I understand. Everyone is busy. They have done their own things, and it’s just easier when you train in your own country. So I understand absolutely. So they have never taken care of me, and I never took them over there either,” said Ferreira.
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Competition in Italy as a Catholic American has a particular meaning for Ferreira in 2026
As an American Catholic, Ferreira is proud to have seen the very first Pope of American origin.
“It’s spectacular. It has never been done before, so it’s certainly a special moment,” said Ferreira.
Ferreira’s dedication to Catholicism dates back to his childhood, and he attributes his faith for helping him succeed in his ski career.
“I grew up as a Catholic. I was at first glance and I had confirmation,” he said. “I am religious in the way of believing in the universe and doing everything in your power to put you in chance and be a good person and, in the end, to follow the golden rule,” do others how you want to be treated “.
“It benefits my ski performance because you can put your head on the pillow every night and you fall asleep. You have to be a good person and live with yourself every day because it is the only person you can’t get away from it. So, if you are a good person, and you focus on your goals.
This Olympic cycle marks a return to meat eaters for Ferreira
Just after finishing his last Olympic performance in Beijing in 2022, Ferreira ended his break of several years to eat meat when he took a bite in a classic American cheeseburger.
“I had a cheeseburger after a year and a half or two years [away from meat]And it was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. And, since then, I feel a little stronger, “he said.” I don’t know if I thought it was better for my body. It was just that my palace was like: “It was delicious, and we don’t leave that anymore.”
“I could feel a stronger touch in some respects. I feel like I have more weight on my body in some respects.”
Ferreira ate meat throughout his life, including during his training leading to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games. But he experienced obtaining without meat and the adoption of a vegetarian / pescatarian diet in the years preceding Beijing.
The Alex Ferreira bronze medalist in the United States poses with its national flag on the podium after the latest freestyle skiing ski’si Freeski Halfpipe at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Enting Snow Park H&S Stadium in Zhangjiakou on February 19, 2022. (Marco Bertorello / AFP via Getty Images)
“The process of reflection to cut it originally was:” OK, let’s give ourselves a chance. I have heard of other athletes to try, like Novak Djokovic and others. “And I thought:” Okay, why not?
“I was certainly a lighter weight.”
However, Ferreira aims to eat a lighter diet overall, and her breakfast is still fully based on plants.
“For breakfast, it’s always oats, 10 blueberries, goji berries, cocoa feathers, cashew butter, honey and tea. So any kind of ginger tea with honey too. It’s quite standard. It’s five to seven days a week.”
And while Ferreira abandoned the example of Djokovic to avoid meat, he still follows another legend of world sport, the football star Cristiano Ronaldo, completely avoiding alcohol.
The winter Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games began in February 2026. More information on athletes can be found on Teamusa.com.
