Ever since he watched the Vancouver Winter Olympics 16 years ago, Trennt Michaud had a goal of one day representing his country on the world’s biggest stage.
Michaud, who fulfilled his goal recently by earning a place at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics with his skate partner Lia Pereira, discussed discovering figure skating while growing up in Belleville
“It’s a bit of a joke that I got kicked out of Timbits hockey because I couldn’t skate very well and I was dangerous to other kids on the ice…When I would throw my stick at them when they took the puck! And haven’t really played organized hockey since then,” Michaud recalled. “It wasn’t until I was about ten that I started to figure skate. That’s [when I saw] a male figure skater, who was older than me [perform] in the year-end carnival, and it looked kind of cool to me. I wanted to try it, and my mom and grandparents asked if I wanted a coach…leading to the [opportunity to be coached] by Lisa Conley.”
The figure skater would eventually move to Brantford in 2017.
“I’ve been in Brantford for nine years now….[and] I had originally moved in my last semester of grade 12 in 2014 to London, when Alison [Purkiss] had her skating school there at the time. We trained there for about three years before she had decided to move her skating school back to Brantford [as it] her home….I followed her along there, and I’ve been a Brantford resident ever since,” he said.
However, Michaud would participate at his first Ontario Winter Games held in Muskoka, which was happening around the Vancouver Olympics; an event that made a deep impression on him.
“I had just competed at the Ontario Winter Games. And that’s when I really started to take it more seriously. Around that time, I watched the Winter Olympics in Vancouver [which] was really inspiring…skaters [like] Bryce Davidson, Jessica Dubé, Patrick Chan and Joannie Rochette. It was so incredible to see them and just enjoying all the other sports. That drove home that I wanted to be an Olympian one day. As the years progressed, it became more of a goal than just a dream,” he said. “It was a really cool experience because the Ontario Winter Games had opening and closing ceremonies just like the Olympics. And we stayed at a golf resort which was like village apartments. So, it felt very similar to what you had seen on TV in Vancouver. So, it was really inspiring and I just remember it being a really fun time.”
Nevertheless, Michaud recalled a few highlights during his earlier career in pairs.
“Winning Junior was a pretty big deal [which I won] in 2016 with my partner Hope McLean, and then the following season with my partner Evelyn Walsh. It was another step towards [attaining the goal] of competing at the Olympics. Being national champion, even in junior…that felt like it opened the door up to the possibility and the belief in myself that….going to the Olympics could be achievable. And then, getting closer to competing against [athletes] that you’ve been watching on TV for years was great,” he said.
Michaud’s first key partnership was with Evelyn Walsh, which he competed with from 2016 until her retirement in 2022.
“We were already good friends, so it helped before the partnership started, and not being strangers to each other. It was really exciting skating with Evelyn….we got to do a lot of really cool things in junior, and then into senior, we were multiple national silver medalists and went onto worlds. It was a great partnership which when I look back on…it helped me to reach where I am here today,” he noted. “But she didn’t want to continue to compete anymore and wanted to pursue other things like schooling which I knew was very important to her…[and] a decision I completely respected.”
However, he knew that still wanted to compete and in 2022 he was paired with Lia Pereira. Eventually winning the national pairs gold in 2026.
“It’s been a lot of fun. Both of our coaches, Alison Purkiss and Nancy Lemaire. Nancy was Lia’s singles coach at the time, and Alison had taught Lia novice pairs for six years. Our coaches are very close colleagues, and so Alison had reached out to Nancy and thought that there would be an instant chemistry between Lia and I as we share a love for the sport and for training,” he said. “When we were first named to the team, it was really exciting…but it’s been part of our plan since we started skating together. I’d say that that level of preparedness and confidence, especially after us winning nationals, has seeped into our skating since then in a good way,” he noted.
Both Michaud and Pereira have meshed extremely well over the years.
“Sometimes sports can be hard. We have tough days, but we’re both really good at reminding each other of why we love this and enjoy training and competing. We’re both very positive people. We’re called the Golden Retrievers at the rink for a reason,” he noted. “She’s just a very intelligent woman, and I appreciate her a lot in her partnership…and we have a great relationship on and off the ice, and we do a lot of work with our performance coaches, and we talk a lot in that emotional intelligence realm…[but] it’s really nice to have somebody where you can continue communicating back and forth [and] keep growing that aspect of this partnership as well.”
The Michaud-Pereira team has continued to practice consistently, working relentlessly to get better.
“Like with anything that you’re trying to master, the 10,000-hour rule definitely applies. You might be able to do something well right away, but it still takes time to master it. For Lia and I…it’s hard to say what technical changes that we’ve made…[but] we just work really well with our team…fine-tuning things and continuing to learn,” he noted. “But it’s about believing in the process and trusting it….and once again, we strive for mastery, trying to constantly improve on a daily basis. I think that’s also the mindset that we have had, which has allowed us to keep pushing those aspects before heading to the Olympics.”
However, before making it to the Olympics, Michaud and Pereira captured gold for the pair’s competition at the Canadian National Skating Championship.
“Nationals is always a special event every year. If you ask any Canadian athlete in the figure skating world, it’s one of the events we looking the most in participating in. We see all of our friends and there’s always a great vibe to it. [Lia and I have] gone to the past three national championships with the goal of becoming national champions…[which we achieved] this year. We didn’t have the greatest short but had a great performance in the long…we were just really excited and happy with the results [and] being named Canadian champions was a very special moment. One that I’ll never forget,” Michaud said.
One of the biggest aspects of being an Olympian has been the reaction from Canadians.
“One of the really special things I found so far was when we were traveling to the games and seeing…all these people at the airport who were excited to see us, and we’re wishing us good luck. And you can just see the joy that the Olympics brings to people and that feeling that the nation is behind you. It’s not just the maple leaf on your shoulder and on your back, but you do feel, you know, the pride and the joy of all the Canadians back home supporting us. So that’s been very special for us,” said Michaud.
The support, as Michaud noted, has been overwhelming from also the Belleville and Brantford communities.
“I always consider myself a Quinte West boy, just because I was born in Belleville, lived in Trenton, [and] went to high school in Brighton….but at the same time, I also feel very attached to Brantford…living there for almost a decade, and having a circle of friends in the area,” he stated. “I’ve been getting lots of people reaching out from high school and public school, and then all of my coworkers, friends and family…following and supporting me which is really nice…I work at the SportChek at Lynden Park Mall, and they’ve got a really cool sign out cheering me on too. So, I really feel the support from….what I consider both of my homes.”
