Canadian Olympic dad has teary-eyed reaction in impromptu interview
When CBC Olympics reporter Ariel Helwani took to the streets of Livigno, Italy looking for interviews, he probably wasn’t expecting one as emotional as he ended up with.
Helwani, best known in the non-Olympic world as an MMA reporter, was perusing the streets chatting with fans when he stumbled upon a group of Canadian fans.
And it turns out that among them was first-time Canadian Olympic freestyle skier MaĆÆa Schwinghammer’s dad, Rick.
Get your tissues ready š„¹
While doing interviews in the streets of Livigno, @arielhelwani finds MaĆÆa Schwinghammer's dad, who cries talking about watching his daughter compete at #MilanoCortina2026#WinterOlympicsToday presented by @AirCanada pic.twitter.com/KSAIZXzDDB
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 8, 2026
After figuring out who he was, Helwani asked the proud father to try to explain his feelings on seeing his daughter compete on the world stage.
“It’s hard to say,” Schwinghammer said. “Gets you all emotional, but it’s so fun to be here. It’s awesome.”
And while winning an Olympic medal is the goal of pretty much any athlete competing, that isn’t necessarily the same for their parents.
“She’s doing great. We decided that she’s done so well, and she’s already, at the top, made it here just great,” Schwinghammer said.
In the middle of the chat, a few tears were shed.
“This is real, right here?” Helwani asked about Schwinghammer’s emotions.
“Oui,” he said with a smile.
“From one dad to another, I understand,” Helwani replied.
The elder Schwinghammer himself was a World Cup-level freestyle skier, no doubt inspiring his daughter’s passion for the sport. Given that she grew up a notoriously flat part of Canada in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, having a supportive family would’ve been paramount to reaching the top levels of the sport.
But despite being so choked up about the whole experience, the emotional father didn’t quite want to chock it up to his own parenting.
“I guess her mom taught her good things,” Schwinghammer said about how his daughter made her way to the Olympics.
“Take some credit,” Helwani said with a laugh.
Schwinghammer competes in the moguls event taking place Feb. 10 and 11.