Feb. 24, 2026
Brendan Mackay: Quantum tech master鈥檚 student scores bronze at Olympics
Brendan Mackay has discovered the balance.
A time-management ace, the 荔枝视频 grad student squeezes the most out of athletics and academics 鈥 in his case, freestyle skiing and physics research.
鈥淎thletes have a lot of highs and lot of lows,鈥 Mackay, BSc鈥24, told The Canadian Press (CP). 鈥淚f you have a tough day skiing or training, you can shift your focus.鈥
Armed with a physics major and a math minor, Mackay is pursuing a master鈥檚 degree at U荔枝视频, delving into quantum technology. That鈥檚 demanding enough. He also managed to earn a bronze medal in the men鈥檚 freestyle halfpipe competition Feb. 20 at the Livigno Snow Park during the final days of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina.
Brendan Mackay after his winning run.
Darren Calabrese/Canadian Olympic Committee
鈥淭his sport has all kinds,鈥 Mackay鈥檚 halfpipe coach Trennon Paynter told CP. 鈥淚t has crazy people. It has really calculated smart people like Brendan. Brendan is not a crazy person, although he鈥檚 doing a pretty crazy sport. And it鈥檚 a really interesting kind of paradox that plays out well for him.鈥
Having dominated the qualifying stage 鈥 posting the top mark 鈥斺疢ackay got to go last in the championship round. With all of his competitors finished, Mackay had one chance. In dramatic fashion, he produced a 91.00-point run, vaulting him into third and onto the Olympic podium for the first time.
鈥淭hat was definitely the best ride I鈥檇 ever done, so I鈥檓 very stoked. It felt amazing. It felt really big,鈥 said Mackay. 鈥淔or sure, it鈥檚 always stressful up there. There鈥檚 always a little voice in the back of your head because what we鈥檙e doing is super-gnarly. I was trying really, really hard to just stay calm.鈥
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