Ski racer Courtney Hoffos latest Canadian athlete to have Olympic hopes dashed by injury

With an Olympic built in bed secured, canadian river ski sweep race driver Courtney Hoffos could feature eased off the gas pedal as she approached her second Winter Games in February, but that isn’t her style.

“I could’ve taken the safe route [but] I always race to compete and to push in every heat, even if I find myself vulnerable to contradict that in hindsight,” she wrote in an Instagram post on Monday.

The native of Windermere, B.C., will miss the Milan-Cortina Winter Games following knee surgery after a recent crash during a World Cup competition in Arosa, Switzerland.

Injuries have also quashed the Olympic dreams of two other Canadian hopefuls, ski cross racer India Sherret and snowboarder Liam Brearley.

Hoffos had surgery to repair the tibial plateau, medial collateral ligament and meniscus. The tibial plateau is the flat, top surface of the shin bone while the meniscus is a piece of rubbery cartilage in the knee that cushions the thigh bone from the shin bone.

"I'm incredibly grateful for my team, my family and the amazing hospital staff in Chur [Switzerland]," she wrote. "Now it’s time to focus on recovery, spend Christmas with my family and enjoy the other little things in my life.”

Canadian medal hopeful Courtney Hoffos to miss Olympics after ski cross crash

Hoffos, 28, grabbed a silver medal in the big final of the World Cup season opener in Val Thorens, France on Dec. 11 to clinch a spot at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.

She returned to competition last season with a repaired anterior cruciate ligament in her knee after missing the entire campaign the previous year. Hoffos was seventh in the 2024-25 World Cup standings with three silver medals and a pair of bronze while also winning silver at the world championships.

Sherret and Brearley also revealed on social media they would have to miss the Olympics because of knee injuries.

Sherret, who competed at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, announced she tore her ACL and MCL in a crash in Val Thorens on Dec. 12. Her surgery is scheduled for Jan. 27.

"I’m devastated and that’s probably an understatement of how I’m feeling right now," Sherret, 29, from Cranbrook, B.C., said in her social media post. "I know there’s more to life than ski racing and more to my career than the Olympics, but almost every choice I’ve made the last four years has been with the Games in mind.

"To lose it so quickly is crushing. I know I’ll come back stronger and all that but in this moment I’m just really, really sad."

Canada's Sherret injured after ski cross crash at World Cup race in France

Brearley, a world champion in slopestyle, said he recently had knee surgery after injuring his left knee and ankle during training in November.

The 22-year-old from Gravenhurst, Ont., said he spent weeks exploring his options for treatment, but the 2025 slopestyle world champion made the decision to have surgery that would keep him from competing at the Winter Games.

“This has definitely been a tough moment for me, but I’m staying positive and focused on coming back stronger,” Brearley said in a news release. “I’m grateful for the support from my family, my team, my incredible sponsors, my management team and everyone who has reached out.

"The Olympics mean a lot, but so does having a long career ahead and competing for Canada. This is just part of the journey.”

Brearley has started rehabilitation under the guidance of team doctors and medical specialists, but will be out of action for the remainder of the season, including the Olympics.

"That’s a tough reality to accept. Competing on that stage has been a lifelong dream, and missing it hurts more than I can put into words," Brearley wrote in an Instagram post. "I know setbacks are part of the journey, and I’m incredibly grateful for the support from my family, team, sponsors, management, and all of you, it’s meant everything during this time.

"The focus now is recovery and coming back stronger than before. I’m not going anywhere, and I’m more motivated than ever."

Brearley's return-to-sport plan is expected to see him begin light on-snow progression in early April.

WATCH | Canadian snowboarder Brearley scores world title in slopestyle:

Canada's Liam Brearley grinds to world championship snowboard slopestyle gold

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