Brightonians are gearing up to cheer on one of their own this weekend: World champ and Olympic athlete Hallie Clarke, who is competing at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.
At just age 21, the skeleton racer has already achieved her dream of making it the Olympics – and is already a history-shattering champion.
This Saturday, Feb. 14, the Municipality of Brighton is calling on residents to come together at the Owen Gibb Community Hall and cheer on Clarke during a special viewing party inside the King Edward Park Arena.
The event will kick off at noon, with a viewing of heat three featuring Clarke to be followed by heat four at 1:30 on the big screen.
Organizers said residents should expect “a lot of community and Canadian pride,” and some Canadian-themed snacks and refreshments.
And attendees are encouraged to wear red, white and/or Canadian-themed attire – and even bring some noise makers to cheer Clarke on during her runs.
The event is free to attend, but people are being asked to RSVP online. For residents with any questions, they’re encouraged to contact Caroline Birch at the municipality via cbirch@brighton.ca.
As previously reported, this marks Clarke’s first run at the Olympics, after previously sweeping both senior and junior skeleton world championships back-to-back.
Those wins were historic on several fronts, including that she became the first athlete to wear both crowns at the same time.
She’s also the youngest – and second woman ever – to win the senior skeleton world title, which she captured in Winterberg, Germany in 2024, and still managed to squeeze in a visit back home shortly thereafter.
The last woman to win skeleton gold before this was Michelle Kelly in 2003.
Clarke is also only one of five Canadians ever to win the senior crown.
Earlier this year, Team Canada announced Clarke as one of three skeleton athletes for Milano Cortina.
Clarke started skeleton at just 14 years old back in 2018, when she was living in Calgary at the time, she previously told MBC.
“It just happened to be by chance. I happened to walk past a sign that said: ‘Learn to push.’”
She thought to herself “that sounds so Canadian,” And really, that was the start of it all – then, she just “fell in love with it.”
Heats one and two for the women at the games are scheduled to get underway Friday.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)