Canadian figure skater Madeline Schizas has gone viral after politely asking a professor for an extension on a college assignment while competing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The post on her Instagram story shows an email sent from Schizas to her sociology professor explaining that she had been competing at the Olympic Games and mistakenly believed a reflection assignment was due later in the week.
She wrote: “I was competing in the Olympic Games yesterday and thought the reflection was due on Sunday, not Friday.”
In the message, she asks for a brief extension and includes a link to an official Team Canada press release to confirm her participation.
Schizas captioned the Story, “LOLLLL I love being a student athlete,” highlighting the unusual reality of balancing university coursework with Olympic competition.
The 22-year-old is currently representing Canada in two events at the 2026 Games: the Team Event and the women’s singles competition. She already skated in the women’s short program for the Team Event on Friday, February 6, placing sixth with a score of 64.97.
Her performance helped Canada finish the opening day in fifth place, the cutoff needed to advance to the final segments of the Team Event.
Canada will return to the ice for the women’s free skate portion of the Team Event on Sunday, February 8. Schizas is also set to compete later in the Games as Canada’s sole entry in the women’s individual event, with the short program scheduled for February 17 and the free skate on February 19.
Milano Cortina marks Schizas’ second Olympic appearance, following her debut at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
