Team Canada's Madeline Schizas competed in the team figure skating event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics while balancing her final year at McMaster University in Ontario.
The 22-year-old skater's viral email to her sociology professor requesting an assignment extension led to endless smiles across social media. The official Olympic social media account joined in with a lighthearted response about her balancing school and competition.
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Schizas sent her professor an email explaining she competed in the Olympic Games and thought the "reflection" assignment was due on Sunday, not Friday. She posted a screenshot of the email Saturday morning after competing in the women's short program the previous day, attaching a link to her performance as proof.
The Olympics’ official Instagram account shared details of how she juggles her student life with the Olympics, including a screenshot of an email she posted, adding, “Competing at the Winter Olympics sounds like a pretty good excuse to us.”
She later confirmed to her 50K followers that she received her extension, sharing, "Since it seems everyone was quite invested, I did get my extension lol."
The Canadian skater added she couldn't believe how many people cared about her assignment situation, calling it a lesson about the Olympic spotlight. However, she admitted that it is quite tough to manage being a student-athlete. She is pursuing a major in Environment and Society and is set to graduate in May.
On the ice, the Oakville, Ontario native faced challenges during the team event. A music malfunction forced Schizas to restart her short program, and she fell on her first jump during the free skate. Despite the fall, she earned a score of 125 points for her "Butterfly Lovers" routine.
Canada finished fifth in the team event with 54 points, missing the podium as the United States defended its gold medal from Beijing 2022, followed by Japan claiming silver and Italy taking bronze.
According to NBC, Schizas will compete in the women's single short program on Feb. 17 and hopes to make the medal event on Feb. 19.