Jo Butterfield’s comeback: Chasing dreams through adversity

Some of Jo Butterfield’s most difficult days came when she was forced to step back from her two greatest passions – sport and travel.

A New Year’s trip to Miami, Florida was curtailed and instead, the start of 2024 saw the Scottish athlete undergoing chemotherapy, a treatment she endured over a 16-week period.

Butterfield was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2023, just before beginning her second season in curling. Although she continued to train at the National Curling Academy in Stirling with the rest of the Scottish team, health-related travel restrictions meant she could not compete globally.

“Having to be at the hospital once a week meant that I wasn’t able to do any international competitions, which ruled me out for the World Championship last year,” she explained.

“Travel is my other passion, so that was a bit of a double blow.

“I hated watching the games from the side, but I liked knowing that I was still part of that team and had their support.

“Even to the point when I lost my hair – half the guys on the team don’t have hair anyway, so I was just kind of one of the guys.

Jo Butterfield competes at her first World Wheelchair Curling Championship © World Curling / Cheyenne Boone

Adapting to new challenges and finding new passions

During this time, Butterfield would train early in the week and receive her treatment on Wednesdays. The ice time gave her “that sort of break from cancer”, though she admits the workload was tiring. Little in her routine changed during this time, but she did find a new passion for painting.

“It came from a very strange place in that my wife, she had seen this picture when we were on holiday a few years ago, and she really, really wanted it, but it cost an absolute fortune,” Butterfield recalled.

“It was of a wave of colours and I thought, ‘I could do that’.

“It’s on the wall [in her house], so it can’t be that bad!”

Fortunately, the cancer was cleared a year ago following surgery, radiotherapy and ongoing immunotherapy, and to prevent the cancer coming back, she receives an injection every three weeks.

Though chemotherapy left her body “a bit beaten up”, Butterfield returned to the squad in time for the upcoming World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Stevenston, Scotland. She was also able to enjoy that dream trip to Miami one year later.

“I was able to keep up with most ice sessions with the rest of the squad, but certainly in the gym and cardiovascular, I had to really pay back,” said Butterfield.

“The immunotherapy actually has a risk of damaging your heart, so we’ve really had to watch any cardiovascular activity until I finish that in a couple of months time.”

As she prepares for holding camp for the World Championship, Butterfield has to receive her immunotherapy injection. In what must have felt like some days of great misfortune, having a home Championship has made the logistics easier. There is no travel or jet lag tiredness, nor complications of taking her injection, which must be factored in when travelling abroad.

Jo Butterfield at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2023 © World Curling / Cheyenne Boone

How the curling dreams started

Now that she is back, Butterfield views the upcoming competition as an opportunity to rebuild and continue to strive for her dream – becoming a gold medallist at both the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games. Before taking up curling, she competed in athletics and won gold in the women’s F51 club throw at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, which was removed from the Paris 2024 programme.

Nigel Holl, the Executive Performance Director for British Curling, who had known Butterfield during his time at British Athletics, suggested she try curling.

“When I started curling, it was very much to be a Winter and a Summer Paralympian,” said Butterfield.

“I’d always thought that to be able to do a Summer and a Winter Games is kind of fascinating in a sense.

“I’ve ticked off the gold medal in a Summer, so what else could I strive for?

“When I started in athletics, it was to get a gold medal, so when I started in curling, to me, that was all that I could strive for.”

If Butterfield was to make the Paralympic team and they were to win the gold medal, she would join an elite group of athletes who’ve won Paralympic titles in both the Summer and Winter Games.

Lots of competition

However, the journey there may be complicated. There are 21 team members from Scotland and England vying to make the squad at Milano Cortina 2026 and with both countries sending teams to the World Championship, the standard is high.

“We’ve had a group come to build the squad into a much larger team and that’s made everything more competitive for a start,” she said.

“There’s suddenly now a fight for places, but getting selected for this World Championship wasn’t a done deal, which is great.

“It’s exactly where we should be, and I think that fight in itself has raised the level.”

There are several ways the British mixed team could look at the Paralympic Winter Games. There might be a Scottish team – as there always has been – representing Great Britain, or for the first time, an English team could represent Great Britian. Alternatively, a combined squad from both nations could form an incredibly strong team.

Butterfield celebrates with teammates at World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2023 © World Curling / Cheyenne Boone

Team stronger than ever

Butterfield said that Paralympic dream motivated her during her cancer treatment and strengthened her bond with her teammates.

“It really does feel like there’s been a shift: rather than just individuals performing, we actually work together as a team,” she added, mentioning how close her and veteran skip Hugh Nibloe have become over the past year, praising his knowledge as “phenomenal”.

“It’s about what can we work on together to get the best out of each other?

“I’m not just doing it for me, I’m doing it for our team, and we want to do it for each other. It is just about being brave enough to be vulnerable. I think that’s a big one to acknowledge that we’re all different people, but we’re all here for the same purpose.

“I’m prepared to open up things that aren’t always the easiest conversations, but to make sure that we get the best out of it and sometimes that can be a really hard place to get to.”

With Butterfield’s return and the addition of Austin McKenzie, it has brought more life into the seasoned players Nibloe and alternate Gregor Ewan, as well as Gary Smith who has been on the team since 2020. She believes fresh ideas have “sparked a little bit of life” and helped the others remember why they play the way they do.

“We’re at the stage now where I’m soaking it up, but also we’ve got to learn to challenge back, but also add value,” she said.

“It’s not just one person, there’s four people there adding as much value as one another. We’ve definitely grown closer together in these last 12 months. We’ve got to build for next year, so, we’ve got put on a good show. We know where we’re at and we have to show the rest of the world where we’re at.

“I think there’s a real belief that we can beat anybody, I don’t think any team is way above anybody else.”

While Butterfield’s primary goal is to become a Winter Paralympian and win gold, it’s clear her journey doesn’t end there.

“My instinct is always to say, ‘I’m not finished yet’,” she said.

“I’ll do it for as long as I can. It’ll be what feels right at the time.”

And long may that dream continue.