The Olympic rings in front of mountains in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images

If you thought about your favourite Olympic memory, what would you say? For me, I don’t have to reach too far into the archives for my answer. 

I will never forget watching the Canadian women’s hockey team win gold against the Americans in Beijing at the 2022 Olympics. Pandemic precautions meant the crowd was limited, but it made for a surreal moment, as the arena was eerily quiet. It felt like we were invisible — that these elite women were in their own world, and we could hear everything. It was hockey stripped down to the essentials.

Team Canada celebrates with their gold medals after defeating the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. Photo by Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press

This is what the Olympics are all about. It’s a chance for you, the reader, to see the world through the eyes of our reporters in Milan and Cortina. It’s about the heartbreak, when a world-class speed skater trips at the finish line. It’s about the feeling in your stomach when something unbelievable happens. And it’s about the (heated) rivalries between nations. At these Olympics, it seems to be America versus everybody. 

We believe the best Olympic coverage is for everyone: We do write for the readers who might be insiders, who can list every Canadian speed skating medallist. But we also write for the person who doesn’t always follow, or even like sports outside of the Olympics. We write for the person who wants to be part of the conversation for the next three weeks, but might not know where to start, and we equip them with the anecdotes they need to be the most interesting person in any conversation. 

We are so excited to take you along on this ride with us. 

You can find all our Olympic coverage from Postmedia's reporters in Milan and Cortina on The Gazette's website. To help you navigate the Games from the comfort of your couch, we've prepared a free downloadable TV viewing guide in PDF form, which you can access here. 

We are in Milan and Cortina because of our subscribers, and we are so excited to take you behind the scenes. 

We love to hear from readers, so please reply to this email with any question you might have about the Olympic process, or to share your own memories of the Games. 

Thank you for your support of our newsroom.

— Erin Valois, Olympics editor