Team Canada came out on top in a back-and-forth championship match against China to win gold in wheelchair curling at the Paralympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina Saturday morning.
The team, co-captained by Spallumcheen’s Ina Forrest, edged China 4-3 with a tiebreaking point in the eighth and final end to win Canada its fourth Paralympic wheelchair curling gold medal and its first since 2014.
It’s the third career Paralympic gold medal for Forrest, who was on the teams that won it all in 2010 and 2014.
Team Canada, comprised of skip Mark Ideson, second Forrest, lead Collinda Joseph, and third Jon Thurston, went a perfect 11-0 in the tournament. It’s the only team in Paralympic history to go undefeated through the round robin and playoffs.
China was the No. 1-ranked team heading into the mixed team tournament, but Canada came out on top each time the two teams met.
Joseph curled at 73 per cent for Team Canada in the final, followed by Thurston at 71 per cent, Forrest at 67 per cent and Ideson at 60 per cent.