International Olympic Committee (IOC) and general governance, event organization
Milena Parent (English and French)
Full Professor, Telfer School of Management
Milena.Parent@Telfer.uottawa.ca
Professor Parent specializes in sport (event) governance and strategy, with her research focusing on the organization and strategic planning of sport organizations, particularly major sports events including the Olympics. She also examines sport system governance issues, such as stakeholder management, partnerships, networks, and policies.
She will be on-site at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games.
Athlete mental health and performance
Sommer Christie (English & French)
Assistant Professor, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences
Professor Christie has worked as a mental performance consultant with various Team Canada groups (women’s hockey and wheelchair rugby) and can speak to performance psychology – from raising performance to mental skills and performance - at the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.
She can provide analysis/expertise on the mental side of performance, particularly how athletes prepare for and manage pressure, sustain focus in high-stakes moments, and adapt psychologically across competition phases. She can also speak to team dynamics, including the challenges that arise in high-performance environments, and how mental skills, resilience, and well-being support consistent performance and functioning throughout the Games.
“The Olympics highlight how much performance depends on mental preparation. The athletes who thrive in Milano Cortina will be the ones who can manage pressure, stay present, and perform when it matters most.”
Natalie Durand-Bush (English & French)
Full Professor, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences
Natalie.Durand-Bush@uottawa.ca
Professor Durand-Bush specializes in mental skills training and assessment, mental health, and coaching psychology. Professor Durand-Bush is the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Mental Health and Sport (CCMHS), a specialized centre providing sport-informed mental health care, educational programs, and resources to competitive and high-performance athletes, coaches, and support staff.
She will be on-site at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games.
National identity, sociocultural themes
Christine Dallaire (English & French)
Full Professor, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences
Professor Dallaire studies sports and physical activity from a sociocultural perspective, with a particular focus on Canadian society, youth and communities. She has also developed expertise on the role of sports in the discursive construction of francophone and Canadian identities among youth across the country.
Sport and society
Nicolas Moreau (French only)
Full Professor, School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences
Professor Moreau is an expert in the sociology of sports practices and social norms. He will be on the ground during the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
He can analyze the relationships between sport and society, as well as the political dimensions of sport, explaining how major sporting events reflect and shape social and political values.
Penisgate Scandal
Benoit Girardin (English and French)
Part-time Professor, Faculty of Law - Common Law Section
Professor Girardin is a legal expert focusing on sport integrity issues such as doping and competition manipulation.
Lindsey Vonn to compete on torn ACL
Allison Clouthier (English only)
Assistant Professor, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences
Phone: 613-562-5800, ext. 4258
Professor Clouthier’s research focuses on how patient-specific factors contribute to the risk of musculoskeletal pathology and the success of treatment. By measuring and simulating knee joint biomechanics, she investigates how characteristics such as joint geometry can affect function and contribute to patellofemoral pain or instability. Her work combines musculoskeletal simulation and artificial intelligence with various motion capture technologies to study individualized joint biomechanics.
"Skiing is a high-risk activity for knee injuries, and a torn ACL and meniscus will mean the knee is less stable and more susceptible to further injury. However, I think that Lindsey Vonn has a few factors acting in her favour.
As one of the best skiers in the world, she has excellent technique and strength, which reduces the risk of injury. She has also said that her knee is not swollen and feels stable, and she wore a brace in training today which will help to stabilize the knee in the absence of an ACL. While a younger athlete may not want to risk worsening the injury and jeopardizing the rest of their career, she may be more willing to take that risk. The intense loading on an unstable knee also increases the risk of early osteoarthritis.
However, Lindsey Vonn would be familiar with this as she already has a partial knee replacement in her other knee due to osteoarthritis and perhaps decided that she will take that risk to compete in what may be her final Olympics. While I wouldn't advise anyone to ski that soon after such an injury, I can see that this decision likely makes sense in her case."