Two-win day keeps Canada undefeated at the 2026 Paralympic Games

CORTINA d’AMPEZZO, Italy — Day 2 of mixed team play at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games has officially come to a close, and Canada has maintained a perfect 3-0 record.

Team Canada started the day with a close 5-4 victory over Team Great Britain before blowing Team Norway out of the water 9-2 in six ends on Sunday evening.

Jon Thurston (Dunsford, Ont.), Canada’s vice-skip/third, with skip Mark Ideson (London, Ont.), second Ina Forrest (Spallumcheen, B.C.), and lead Collinda Joseph (Ottawa), capped off a perfect day with a highlight-reel shot against Team Norway at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.

In the sixth end of what was a close game, Thurston found a small opening in a tight port to pick out two Norwegian stones and sit five for Canada. Ideson’s next shot blocked the narrow pathway for the Norwegians, and he used his final stone to seal the win with a draw for six points.

“I’m really happy to be able to make that shot,” said Thurston. “It was something the coaches had seen from the bench as a possibility. I’m glad Mark put a good broom down and I threw the weight he wanted. Pumped to make that shot.”

But the game leading up to that moment could’ve gone either way.

Historically, Team Norway plays really well against Canada and certainly kept up with the Canadians in the first few ends. The score was tied 1-1 to finish the third.

Some separation came in the fourth end with the first deuce of the game on the board for Canada, but it was followed by a single for Norway in the fifth.

“Norway is a really good team, and they can’t be taken lightly,” said Ideson. “They’re the 2024 World Champions, and they like to play with a lot of rocks in play, and we do too. We tried to get as many rocks in play as we could. Sometimes it works out where you get advantages over them, and sometimes it doesn’t, and today, it was just our lucky day.”

The wins of the day took more than luck.

The game between Team Canada and Team Great Britain started with a blank end from the Canadians to open the game. The British team stole one point in the second to get the first number on the board.

The score remained low through seven ends, with only singles, but a couple great makes by Team Great Britain left the Canadians in a very tough spot heading into the final few ends.

In the sixth end, Ideson faced four British stones with his last rock but was able to draw and keep the damage to one point.

The seventh end brought the most excitement from the crowd as Forrest came up clutch against multiple British stones around the button. Stewart Pimblett, the British third-rock thrower, responded with a clean double to clear the Canadian stones from the house. After a few misses from both sides, the end finished with another steal from Great Britain and sent the Canadians into the eighth end, down two points with the hammer.

“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’ve missed or the way that the ends turn,” said Joseph. “I think we need to continue to do that. It needs to be our mantra this week.”

Trouble came for the British team in the final end of play. After a few missed shots, Canada was laying three with British skip Hugh Nibloe’s final rock left. The three-time Paralympian looked for a draw to the button through traffic to outcount the three Canadian stones but came up just short and gave Team Canada the win.

“Well, we were feeling like we were in a little bit of trouble, and we really needed to at least score two,” said Joseph of the eighth end. “We came out with the pressure to ensure that we did score two, and everyone’s draw weight was locked in for that part of the end, and it was really good, but it was pretty tense.

“They played amazing and challenged us every step of the way. I think that’s going to be a theme going through these Paralympic Games.”

Team Canada will face Team Latvia Monday at 4:35 a.m. (all times Eastern).

The Canadian team is supported by coaches Mick Lizmore and Dana Ferguson; fifth Gilbert Dash (Kipling, Sask.); team leader Kyle Paquette; team physiotherapist Sari Shatil; team physician Dr. Steven Macaluso; performance science lead Kyle Turcotte; and family and friends coordinator Wendy Morgan.

For live scoring, team lineups, and standings, CLICK HERE.

All of Canada’s games will be broadcast on a variety of platforms by CBC, the official Paralympic rights-holder in Canada. CLICK HERE for the CBC broadcast schedule.

This story will be posted in French as soon as possible at https://www.curling.ca/fr/nouvelles-media/