Canada’s Paralympic wheelchair curlers scrapped it out, until the very last rock, and came out golden, against the mixed team from the Republic of China.
The so-called “Cardiac Canadians” had their coaches and supporters sitting on the edge of their seats, with elevated heart rates, on Saturday, but the quartet got the job done.
“Well, it was definitely a tight game.” “Only getting one point in an end, so kept it very tight,” remarked Canada’s Ina Forrest.
This tension was there throughout the entire game, for both sets of competitors, as well as for their support system and fans.
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Collinda Joseph throws a stone during match against China
Left to right: Ina Forrest, Collinda Joseph, Jon Thurston
Ina Forrest, Collinda Joseph and Jon Thurston of the Canadian Paralympic Wheelchair Curling Team competes against China at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Cortina, Italy on March 14, 2026 // L'équipe canadienne de curling en fauteuil roulant paralympique affronte la Chine aux Jeux paralympiques de 2026 à Cortina, en Italie, le 14 mars 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, Angela Burger |
Forrest stated, “You knew that any one shot could be the breakout shot. It could be a score of more than one, which makes it a little bit difficult with such a good team as China and such good hitters.”
China and Canada scored one point each, in alternate ends, with the Cannucks striking first, in the second end.
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| Olympics.com scoring overview of Paralympics Wheelchair Curlinig Mixed Team scoring Olympics.com website (screen snapshot) |
Watch the exciting eighth end of China and Canada’s Gold Medal Game here
https://youtu.be/nzxngU3uycg?si=IcHGQ8UhlFBrffF5
It came down to the final three stones.
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Jon Thurston positions his broom, to help guide Mark Ideson’s throw Left to right: Jon Thurston (Canada), China’s Haitao Wang and Mingliang Zhang
Jon Thurston of the Canadian Paralympic Wheelchair Curling Team competes against China at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Cortina, Italy on March 14, 2026 // L'équipe canadienne de curling en fauteuil roulant paralympique affronte la Chine aux Jeux paralympiques de 2026 à Cortina, en Italie, le 14 mars 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, Angela Burger |
“And then down to that last shot. Well, second last shot. Mark puts it in there. It looks like it’s shot,” recalled Forrest.
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| Rocks in play, when China and Canada each had one remaining throw CBC Sports YouTube channel (screen snapshot) |
China’s team discussed their strategy, before Wang threw his last stone.
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| Haitao Wang, Mingliang Zhang and JIanzin Chen discuss tactics before last throw CBC Sports YouTube channel (screen snapshot) |
China’s skip, Haitao Wang, then took his final throw.
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| China Skip, Haitao Wang, takes his final throw CBC Sports YouTube channel (screen snapshot) |
The usually accurate Wang, missed his intended target; to hit one of Canada’s rocks, pushing it forward to propel China’s stone toward the button (centre of the target).
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| Uncharastically, Haitao Wang, who won gold, as a member of China's last two Paralympic wheelchair curling teams, missed the shot CBC Sports YouTube channel (screen snapshot) |
Close up view
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| Close up of Wang's missed shot CBC Sports YouTube channel (screen snapshot) |
This is when the intense drama got crazy!
The Canadian quartet deliberated whether or not to intentionally waste their final shot or use it to push their rock closer to the button (centre of the target) – with 60 seconds remaining in the game.
“So obviously we were tight on time, but I was able to look at the stone in the house and also on the screen,” reported Jon Thurston.
“I did think we were shot, but I don’t want us to lose the Paralympics because I get the guess wrong. So we’re trying to communicate, we have to throw a shot,” recollected Thurston.
If a team exhausts their allotted 38 minutes before throwing their final stone, in the eighth (final) end, they forfeit the game!
The Canadian athletes continued to debate -- nudge their stone closer versus throwing their last rock into the bumper -- until only about three seconds remained in their play clock!
“Trying to decide on what weight that shot’s going to be, where the broom’s going to be. And it was really hard to communicate with the time crunch, and the noise of the venue,” detailed Thurston.
“There was a lot of confusion. We weren’t 100% sure whether we were shot rock or not,” remembered Canadian skip, Mark Ideson.
Ideson shared the rest of the team’s thought process. “The clock was running down and rather than leave it to chance, we thought we’d better make the shot. So luckily, I’d just thrown a similar shot and Jon knew where to put the broom, so we got it away just in time.”
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Canada’s skip, Mark Ideson throws stone in the eighth end Ina Forrest watches his shot, while Collinda Joseph (not visible) anchors his chair
Mark Ideson of the Canadian Paralympic Wheelchair Curling Team competes against China at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Cortina, Italy on March 14, 2026 // L'équipe canadienne de curling en fauteuil roulant paralympique affronte la Chine aux Jeux paralympiques de 2026 à Cortina, en Italie, le 14 mars 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, Angela Burger |
“Thankfully Mark [Ideson] threw a pistol and was able to tap us, and make sure we were shot, to win the gold,” exclaimed an exhuberant Thurston.
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An exuberant Jon Thurston, when Canada won gold
Jon Thurston of the Canadian Paralympic Wheelchair Curling Team competes against China at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Cortina, Italy on March 14, 2026 // L'équipe canadienne de curling en fauteuil roulant paralympique affronte la Chine aux Jeux paralympiques de 2026 à Cortina, en Italie, le 14 mars 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, Angela Burger |
“It feels like I’ve reached a goal. I feel proud to be Canadian. I feel amazing,” expressed Gilbert Dash.
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Canada’s victorious Paralympic mixed wheelchair curling gold medalists Left to right: Gilbert Dash, Collinda Joseph, Ina Forrest, Jon Thurston, Mark Ideson
Canadian Paralympic Wheelchair Curling Team competes against China at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Cortina, Italy on March 14, 2026 // L'équipe canadienne de curling en fauteuil roulant paralympique affronte la Chine aux Jeux paralympiques de 2026 à Cortina, en Italie, le 14 mars 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, Angela Burger |
Thurston concluded, “So Marko just did it all week for us. He’s a great leader and super proud of him and this whole team and it’s super special. I won’t forget this experience and we’re going to enjoy this tonight.”
