Czechia’s Kaltounkova ‘getting tired’ of Canada, USA Olympic favoritism
As we head into another major international tournament, the hockey world seems poised for another gold medal clash between the United States and Canada. Fans are always excited to see one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports take center stage.
Well, almost everybody.
During a media availability on Friday, Team Czechia forward Kristýna Kaltounková admitted that she’s grown weary of pundits and fans already picking the North American superpowers to be battling it out in the final at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
“I’m getting tired of reading the headlines of Canada versus USA for gold,” Kaltounková said.
Since women’s ice hockey was introduced to the Winter Games program in 1998, the only time Canada and Team USA failed to face off with gold on the line was when the last time the Olympics were in Italy 20 years ago. That year, Sweden upset the Americans in the semifinal, leading Canada to take home the gold from Turin, while the U.S. had to settle for bronze. Other than that, viewers have been treated to six thrilling winner-take-all confrontations between the border foes on sport’s biggest stage.
Yet, Kaltounková, who has been having a dominant rookie season with the PWHL’s New York Sirens, mentioned that she has a vast desire to be one of the teams fighting for the top of the podium.
“I would do anything to be up there and be able to win that gold or silver medal. So, I’m going to do whatever it takes.”
Czechia has never made it to a gold medal game in any senior women’s tournament, let alone the Olympics. In fact, Milan will mark the program’s second appearance in the Winter Games. In Beijing four years ago, the team bowed out in the quarterfinals.
However, the Czechs have made massive strides since their Olympic debut. Under current Ottawa Charge head coach Carla MacLeod, the team has made it to the semifinals in each of the past four IIHF Women’s World Championships, winning bronze in 2022 and 2023. Led by the likes of Tereza Vanišová, Aneta Tejralová and Klára Peslarová, Czechia has become one of the top teams in Europe, challenging the old powers of Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.
Kaltounková made her Women’s Worlds debut last spring, establishing her ability to be a top-end scorer, long before the Sirens took her first overall in the 2025 PWHL Draft. She recognizes that the Czechs can compete with the likes of Canada and the Americans, especially since Czechia took an early lead on Team USA in the semifinals.
“We got to understand that we’re in these games now and mentally prepare for being in those games. I think we have done that during Worlds. You have seen games that were much closer in scoring than in the past. I think just working on the fact that, if we’re down by goal, it’s like, ‘It’s okay, guys. We can come back.’ If we’re up by a goal, not freak out because we’re beating the U.S. by one goal and it’s the first period. … So, I think just understanding that mentally, preparing [for those moments].”
Kaltounková recognizes that, for some of the veterans on the Czech roster, being in this situation is a far cry from when the team wasn’t playing at the game’s highest levels.
“10 years ago, they were, in Division I [at the WWC]…Now, they’re competing for a medal at the Olympics. For me, I didn’t grow up watching my country play in the Olympics. So, I think it’s a step for all of us to kind of accept it…it’s gonna be an exciting time for Czechia.”
If you include the WWC, the U.S. and Canada have only failed to meet in a championship contest twice, as the Americans infamously defeated Finland in the 2019 gold medal game. The only major women’s tournament to have multiple instances in which the North American rivals didn’t play in the final is the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, where upsets in the semis have occurred three times, including Czechia’s memorable run to the silver two years ago.
Kaltounková knows what it means to compete on the Olympic stage, as well as the rise of Czech hockey. After her maiden voyage at the Women’s Worlds in 2025, she no longer wants her country to be compared to lesser teams, hoping her squad is measured up against the best of the best instead
“I enjoyed the games against the United States and Canada the most,” Kaltounková said. “That drives me so much. I think when something drives me, I could sense that the locker room goes with me. So, [at the Olympics], I think it’s just going to be about those games. I don’t want to be compared to the lower teams. I want to be compared to the best teams in the world.”
Czechia won’t have to wait long for an early test in Italy, as the team faces off with the Americans on the opening day of the tournament on Feb. 5. The Czechs get Canada in their group-stage finale on Feb. 9.