Resilient Canadian Paralympic Mixed Wheelchair Curling Team Wins Second Consecutive Squeaker

PARALYMPICS – MARCH 8, 2026 – Mark Ideson, Collinda Joseph and Jon Thurston, members of Canada’s Paralympic mixed Wheelchair Curling team, snatched victory 5-4, from Great Britain’s Hugh Nibloe, Karen Aspey and Austin McKenzie, with their second last stone, in a thrilling match, at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on March 6, 2026.

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Skips, Ideson and Nibloe, led their teams, like two seasoned chess masters, throughout the full eight ends of the match.

“They're a good team. Hugh's a veteran. You know, he's been at it for a long time, and they’re always going to bring a good game against us and proved it again today,” said Ideson, praising the British squad, during a post-match interview.

He continued, “They were really strong out there, and had us going right to the last stone.”

The opening end had some technical drama, when Great Britain was forced to take a time out, to repair one of the brakes on Austin McKenzie’s wheelchair.

The issue was resolved later, but did not negatively impact McKenzie’s performance during the match. His teammates acted as a second brake, until the repair was made.

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After a scoreless first end, Great Britain earned the initial point of the match, during the second.

Canada scored a single point during the third and fourth ends, taking the lead, 2-1.

The British team then scored three unanswered points, in the fifth, sixth and seventh ends, surging ahead, 4-2.

“I think we always felt we were in it. Obviously gave up two steals in six and seven. That got us behind on the scoreboard,” said Canada’s Jon Thurston, reflecting on their match.

Thurston pointed out what may have been the key to team Canada’s mental game.

“I felt like it was a good game of resilience. We just kind of stuck with it. I think we did our best not to get too high, not to get too low, and it paid off,” said Thurston.

The pressure was on Canada, during the dramatic final end. They needed three points to win, or two points, to tie, which would have sent the game into a play-off round.

To this point, in the match, neither team had scored more than one point, in any game.

“We were feeling like we were in a little bit of trouble and we really needed to score two, obviously just to tie the game,” said Collinda Joseph.

She continued, “We came out with the press to ensure that we did score two and you know, corner guard went up, came around, and everyone’s draw weight was locked in, for that part of the end. It was really good, but it was pretty tense.”

Speaking of their future matches, during the Paralympics, Joseph echoed Thurston’s sentiments. Resilience is the key to Canada medalling.

Joseph said, “I keep saying this, but really the idea is that we need to stay resilient, and we need to stay focused on what we’re going to be doing next, and not get caught up on the shots that we missed or the way that the ends turn.”

She concluded, “I think we need to continue to do that, and it needs to be our mantra this week.”