On Thursday, February 12, a celebratory, prideful atmosphere enveloped students at École secondaire publique Le Sommet in Hawkesbury as Valérie Grenier competed in alpine skiing at the Milano-Cortina Olympics. Grenier is a 29-year-old Olympian from St-Rose, Ontario, who has been skiing since she was two years old and graduated from Le Sommet in 2014.
Dozens of students and staff were eager to cheer on Grenier in the school’s auditorium as she competed at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Students wore Team Canada gear, cheered, and waved posters as they watched one of her races on the projector.
Grenier has already competed in the Women’s Super-G race, where she did not finish, and was disqualified from the Women’s Downhill event. In the Women’s Team Combined event, Grenier and fellow Canadian Laurence St-Germain finished 13th in the final.
In January 2023, Grenier won gold in the giant slalom at Kranjska Gora in Slovenia. She has competed in three Winter Olympics for Canada since 2018, finishing sixth in the Alpine Combined event in 2018.
Regardless of the results, Grenier’s presence on the Olympic stage was a source of pride for students and staff at Le Sommet, who gathered to support a former student now competing among the world’s best. It was a reminder that international success can begin in their own school hallways.
