Canadian figure skater Madeline Schizas had about as good an excuse as one could for being late on an assignment.
Schizas went viral Saturday when she emailed her college professor to ask for an extension as she’s been a little busy this week competing at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.
Schizas, a 22-year-old senior at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, emailed her sociology professor and asked for an extension after she missed the assignment deadline.
Her reasoning for being late?
“I was competing in the Olympic Games yesterday and thought the reflection was due on Sunday, not Friday,” Schizas wrote in an email that she shared on her Instagram story.
Schizas also attached a link to Team Canada’s press release that named her an Olympian.
Schizas told CBC Olympics and Paralympics reporter Devin Heroux she’s still awaiting a response from her professor.
“It’s a Saturday, so I wasn’t expecting one,” Schizas said. “I also didn’t expect anyone to really care. I just thought it was funny.”
Schizas said she has “no idea” how her professor might respond.
“I’m just shooting my shot on this one,” she continued. “You have a lot of free time with the Olympics. I think people don’t realize that I didn’t do anything today until 5 p.m., so I could have sat down and done that but it was locked. So we’ll see. We’ll see if I get to redo it or not.”
Schizas, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Environment & Society degree, is competing in her second Olympics. The four-time national champion finished sixth in the women’s short program for the team event with a score of 64.97.
The Canadians finished in fifth overall in the team event after day one.
Schizas is also Canada’s sole representative in the women’s individual figure skating event, which is scheduled for Feb. 17.
