Milano Cortina 2026: China wins inaugural wheelchair curling mixed doubles gold
Tense gold and bronze medal matches thrilling for fans 11 Mar 2026
China’s mixed doubles wheelchair curling team won the gold medal final over the Republic of Korea in dramatic fashion on Day 5 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games – the down to the wire contest requiring an extra end.
The bronze medal battle between Latvia and Team USA was equally tense and required a tie-breaking extra end as well.
After the eighth end the gold medal match was tied 7-7 and bronze medal game 10-10, a fitting way to mark an historic day in the inaugural Winter Paralympics mixed doubles tournament.
China’s Jinqiao Yang and Meng Wang ultimately triumphed 9-7, against the Korean duo Hyejin Baek and Yongsuk Lee.
But celebrations had to be quickly muted until the bronze medal match wound down.
“Extremely happy, incredibly joyful," Wang told reporters about winning the gold, to keep China well ahead on the medals table with 10 gold and a total of 26 medals in all.
"Both of us were fighting hard on the ice. The first half went well, but after they caught up in the second half, I did feel a bit nervous - right up until the final moment. Still, I managed to adjust quickly under pressure and stay focused on the game."
Wang was part of the Chinese team that won gold in PyeongChang 2018 while Yang made his Paralympic debut in Italy.
At age 24, Yang is the youngest athlete in the wheelchair curling mixed doubles tournament.
“I only dared to think about it (the gold medal) once I knew I had won it,” Yang said.
Together with Wang, the Chinese pair recorded only one defeat in the round robin stage before beating 2023 World Champions Latvia in the semifinal.
South Korea’s team was mostly proud of their performance.
"It's true that our last shot wasn't the best, and for that, there's a little bit of regret. However, I am very happy to be coming home with a silver medal,” Baek said.
“In the beginning, it was a bit of a struggle, but we managed to catch up towards the end.”
Teammate Lee said the team tried their best to pull out the victory after a slow start.
"It doesn't feel real, but I see that something is hanging on my neck, so I can feel it now,” Lee said.
Latvia’s Polina Rozkova and Agris Lasmans hugged and danced after winning a nail-biting final end to earn the bronze squeaking out an 11-10 victory over USA’s Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt.
"Team USA showed a really good performance. And we said, 'No, no, we are not ready to give up," Rozkova told reporters.
“We put so much work in, not only this last year or the last three years; it's 10 years-plus of work.”
Emt said the result will sting for a while.
“It was a great exhibition, both games going to extra ends,” he said.
“We were putting a show on for everyone around the world.”
He broke down in tears when asked what the late Tony Colacchio, former coach of the US Paralympic curling team who recruited him to the sport, would have said to him after the match.
“I would have come off the ice, and he would have been the first one there, with his arms out to give me a big hug, and he’d say, ‘that’s curling.’” Emt said.
Dwyer is a Paralympic debutant. The partnership with Emt is relatively new and asked if they would stick together and aim for the 2030 Winter Paralympics in the French Alps, Dwyer said: “I’m in” and Emt said “hell yes”.
Dwyer said it was extraordinary to compete in front of a packed stadium of fans.
“They cheered and it was pumping me up,” she said.
“That energy, you could feel it. It was electric. All curling matches should have crowds like this.”
Where to watch and listen to the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games
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Milano Cortina 2026, which takes place from 6-15 March 2026, is set to be the most beautiful Paralympic Winter Games yet. Ticket prices start at EUR 10 for children under 14, with approximately 89 per cent of the tickets available for EUR 35 or less.
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