Canada wins wheelchair curling gold at Milano-Cortina Paralympics
Canada’s wheelchair curling team won its first Paralympic gold medal in more than a decade today, beating defending champion China 4-3 at the Milano-Cortina Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Skip Mark Ideson delivered the winning shot with 2.8 seconds left on the clock, tapping in the final stone to secure the win after China’s skip Wang Haitao left Canada in position with a missed shot in the final end.
The Canadian team made up of of Ideson, lead Collinda Joseph, second Ina Forrest, third Jon Thurston and alternate Gilbert Dash finished the Games without a loss, winning all 11 of their games in Italy. It was Canada’s fourth Paralympic title in the sport and first since 2014.
The gold-medal game was tight from the start, with Canada scoring first and the two teams staying even throughout before heading into the final end tied 3-3, with Canada holding the last-rock advantage.
Earlier this week, Canada became the first team in Paralympic history to finish the preliminary round with a perfect 9-0 record, including a 9-4 victory over China.
Canada has won a wheelchair curling medal at every Paralympics since the sport was added to the program in 2006, claiming gold in the first three tournaments and bronze at the two most recent Games before today’s win.
Forrest made history of her own, becoming the first wheelchair curler to compete at five Paralympics.