8 March 2026
Two-win Sunday for reigning champions at Paralympic Winter Games
Two mixed team sessions took place at the Cortina Olympic Stadium on Sunday.
2022 Paralympic champions People’s Republic of China met hosts Italy in the morning. The teams traded single points in the first three ends before Team China stole singles in the next three ends for 5-1 after six. In the seventh, Italy scored two to narrow the gap, but in the eighth Team China ran them out of stones for a 5-3 final result.
Team China kept their momentum going in their evening game against Republic of Korea in the rematch of the 2025 world championship final. The teams were tied at 3-3 at the break, then Team China were leading, 6-5, after seven. Team Korea had hammer in the last end, but Yang Hui Tae was heavy with his last draw, Team China stole one and won, 7-5.
Afterwards, Team China skip Wang Haitao said, “I’m very happy with this win against Korea. Even though we are the title-defenders, I don’t feel pressure as we know our opponents very well, they all have been around in the past four years.”
Norway versus Slovakia in the morning was a game of two halves. Slovakia didn’t score a single point until the seventh end, when they put two on the board. At this point, Norway were leading, 4-2. In the eighth, Norway’s Jostein Stordahl attempted a difficult raise with his last, facing three Slovak counters. However, his stone ended up tapping back a Slovak stone instead of his target. It resulted in a four-point steal for Slovakia and a 6-4 win for them.
Afterwards, Slovak lead Monika Kunkelova said, “Norway is a really-really strong team, they were world champions in Korea. That was a big pressure on us. In the second half, we started concentrating and it worked out for us.”
Slovakia coach Daniela Matulova added, “I told the team to start focusing on the game, stone by stone, don’t focus on anything else around, because the crowd can be distracting as we are not used to it. And really just to enjoy it as well, and also be a team. In the last end, we did everything we could, and it was in their hands. Fortunately for us, this time it worked out for us.”
Canada played Great Britain in the morning and were trailing 4-2, playing the last end. Canada had three stones in scoring positions before Britain’s Hugh Nibloe threw his last. He came up short and Canada didn’t need to throw their last, won by 5-4 and picked up their second win.
Afterwards, Canada’s Collinda Joseph said, “Certainly the last end was a key moment, I mean, we were fortunate to come away with three and win the game. I think the momentum went up and down throughout the game, they got some momentum, then we got some momentum and it was a very close game. They [Great Britain] played incredibly well, made a ton of shots and we just wanted to make sure we kept fighting and hung on to win the game.”
In the evening, Norway attempted to bounce back from their morning loss, when they played Canada. The Canadians were leading 3-2 after five ends. In the sixth, Norway’s Jostein Stordahl missed his take-out attempt, which opened the door for a score of six for Canada. Mark Ideson drew his last stone into scoring position and Canada put six on the board for 9-2. At that point, Norway conceded the game.
In their only game of the day, United States of America was looking for their first win, playing Italy. The Americans were leading 8-1 at half time and kept their momentum to win 10-1 in six ends.
Afterwards, United States’ skip Sean O’Neill said, “It’s incredible! We thought we had played very well in our first two games. Two tough opponents, but to keep that going and get a win against the hometown team, we are very-very happy. We are happy with how we played so far, but we know we can do even better and turn some of those close misses into makes.”
Talking about their fans, he added, “Our fans were cheering incessantly throughout the game. That’s a ton of family members, my wife, my parents, my brother, friends from curling, friends from high school, it’s incredible how many people are here supporting not just me but all of us! It’s amazing! We can’t say enough how much we love them.”
Sweden and Latvia had a one-game day and they played each other in the morning. 2022 Paralympic silver medallists Sweden were leading 8-1 after four ends and won 10-2 in just six ends.
With this win, Sweden kept their unbeaten record at three wins, while Latvia won one and lost two games so far.
Sweden is joined by Team China and Canada on the top of the table, all unbeaten on three wins. The full standings are be found here.
On Monday, wheelchair curling action continues with two mixed team sessions and one mixed doubles draw.
Follow the live scores from the wheelchair mixed teams at Milano Cortina 2026 here.
Follow the live scores from the wheelchair mixed doubles at Milano Cortina 2026 here.
Find the full wheelchair curling schedule and results here.
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