Milano Cortina 2026: Wheelchair curling – a stone’s throw to Paralympic glory

There will be a double dose of wheelchair curling excitement at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. Mixed doubles makes its debut, joining the mixed teams event, which is celebrating 20 years in the Paralympic programme.

Unlike Olympic curling, wheelchair curling does not involve sweeping, so highly accurate throwing is essential, along with tight teamwork.

The aim is to deliver the stone as close as possible to the centre of the target, called the house. Players can release the stone, which weigh up to 19.96 kilograms, from the hand or using an extender.

Wheelchair curling is also a masterclass in strategy. Players may be aiming for the centre or trying to block opponents – or going for full takeouts.

In the four-member team event, the positions are: lead, second, vice-skip and skip. Players throw two stones per round – known as an ‘end’ – for a total of eight stones per team. 

In mixed doubles, each team delivers five stones per end. This includes two stones that are pre-positioned, sparking immediate action.

Both disciplines consist of eight ends.

The Paralympic Winter Games are no longer dominated by the traditional curling countries, with China overtaking the likes of Canada, Great Britain and Sweden in the last two editions.

In the 2025 World Wheelchair Curling Championship, China, skipped by Haitao Wang, claimed gold with a conclusive 14-3 win over Republic of Korea.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic and Olympic Winter Games will use 132 handcrafted granite stones. The granite comes from Ailsa Craig, a volcanic plug formed some 60 million years ago. 

The Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium will stage all 81 wheelchair curling matches. The venue was built originally for the Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 Olympic Winter Games and will host the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Closing Ceremony.

Five stories to follow...

Mixed doubles – who will take the inaugural gold?

The mixed doubles field could be wide open. Three different teams have claimed World Championship gold in the past three years, with nine nations featuring on the podium.

Curling fans may fancy the Republic of Korea, as they top the world rankings, and took gold in the 2024 World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. But the successful Paralympic qualifying pair defeated the 2024 world gold medallists, as well as the Korean pair that narrowly missed the world podium in 2025. 

That means Hyejin Baek and Yong-seok Lee arrive at Milano Cortina as a relatively unknown pairing, as Lee acknowledges. He believes the pair are among the favourites, but would be wiser to focus on each individual game rather than gold.

Baek did feature in mixed team in Beijing 2022, and hopes to at least enjoy family success, as husband Bongk-wang Nam competes at Milano Cortina in mixed team.

Can China complete a hat trick in the team event?

After victories at Beijing 2022 and PyeongChang 2018, China is going for a golden hat trick in the mixed team event. Add in four golds from the last five World Championships, and they are quite the formidable proposition.

A Chinese squad of 12 curlers has been training for Milano Cortina since July. Seven have made the final cut for the two curling events at the Games. 

They have been through a programme founded on upper-body conditioning and power building. The squad then shifted to a mix of drills both on and off the ice.

The team’s overseas competition schedule has also allowed coach Qingshuang Yue to make a careful analysis of China’s opposition. China are leaving little to chance.

Will Canada continue its Paralympic podium habit?

Canada has traditionally been a wheelchair curling powerhouse. It is the only nation to have claimed medals at each Paralympic Winter Games since the sport's inclusion, including three golds.

But the rest of the world has progressed; there are now challengers on all sides. At Milano Cortina 2026, Canada have only qualified for the mixed team event.

Mark Ideson will use the memory of Sochi 2014, when he was a non-playing alternate in the final, to fire his Milano Cortina ambitions. Canada’s steely skip made a point of dispassionately studying the action in that match, taking note of what he needed to improve so he would be on the ice – and the podium – next time.

He’ll be backed by the most experienced teammate a curler could hope for, the team’s second, Ina Forrest. Forrest will compete in her fifth Paralympic Games, aiming for her second gold.

Any sport, so long as it’s throwing

Great Britain have not made the podium since their bronze at Sochi 2014. But if Jo Butterfield can take gold in the mixed doubles, she will become the first British Paralympian to take top spot at both summer and winter Games.

Butterfield took club throw gold at Rio 2016, but switched from athletics to curling in 2023, winning world championship mixed team bronze with Scotland that year.

Butterfield’s partner will be Jason Kean. Both were born in England. Along with mixed-team players Karen Aspey and Stewart Pimblett, they are the first British Paralympic curlers from outside Scotland.

Curlers are like fine wine

Paralympic wheelchair curling is a sport for all ages.

At the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, Japanese wheelchair curler Takashi Hidai made his Paralympic debut at the age of 75, making him the oldest athlete at the tournament.

At Milano Cortina 2026, the youngest curler by far will be Elija Asnina of Latvia at 16. Forrest will be among the most mature, at 63. But any curler below the age of 40 will count as a junior at these Games.

Is youth starting to tell over experience? The impressive Chinese squad are among the youngest at these Games, with all players below 40.

Secure your tickets for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games  

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.

For more information, please visit tickets.milanocortina2026.org