Tim Laidlaw and Declan Vogel-Paul, two Australian snowboarders who are trying their luck in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, had lost their snowboards onboard an Air Canada flight on Monday. Good thing the management of Air Canada located the items and had it immediately sent to the waiting pair by Wednesday evening at Quebec.

Otherwise, Messrs Laidlaw's and Vogel-Paul's dreams would have gotten to naught.

When the two hopefuls, along with Jarrod Wouters, their coach, learned their snowboards weren't with them on the same flight, they felt water was doused on them instead of them riding on the waves.

People advised them to just borrow other snowboards for the elimination. But Mr Wouters explained it was not that easy.

"It's like a professional golfer trying to use rental clubs," he told CBC News. "Each board is quite different. It's not really that simple."

The three men arrived at Pierre Trudeau International Airport on Monday in Montreal. They were headed to the Snowboard Jamboree near Quebec City to try to qualify for the Olympic games via the International Ski Federation​ Snowboarding World Cup.

As is usual before every competition, athletes need to practice. But Messrs Laidlaw and Vogel-Paul can't because their equipment aren't with them.

Air Canada has managed to recover the missing snowboards and had it immediately sent to Quebec City on Wednesday evening.

But Mr Wouters said it is highly they won't receive the equipment on time, which meant one of the athletes missing a practice session. It could jeopardise his chances during the competition, the coach of the Australian snowboarders said.

Air Canada figured in another lost-and-found situation in October 2013 when one of its staff set loose a two-year-old Italian greyhound named Larry in San Francisco. The dog was bound for Canada to its new owner.

An unidentified personnel decided to take him out of his crate to stretch his legs, despite the dog's previous owner explicitly instructing not to take the dog out of its crate for whatever reason.

As expected, Larry immediately bolted out of the hands of the staff who freed him from his crate. Next thing they knew, he dashed out of the airport's perimetres.

A search campaign ensued for the missing greyhound. Three weeks later it was learned it was already dead, hit by a car.