Canada’s wheelchair curling team improved to 8-0 and clinched the top playoff seed at the Milano-Cortina Paralympics with a 6-3 win over Korea on Thursday.
Led by veteran skip Mark Ideson, Canada jumped out to a 4-1 edge after four ends before the Koreans closed the gap to a one-point deficit following the sixth.
But Canada scored a point in each of the final two ends to secure the win at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.
Canadian third Jon Thurston delivered a clutch, game-saving draw in the final end to neutralize a three-stone threat.
Mark Ideson’s undefeated Canadian rink clinches top spot in round robin with win over Korea
Canada is set to play the United States (3-5) in the round-robin finale on Thursday at 1:35 p.m. ET. The Canadian rink also includes lead Collinda Joseph, second Ina Forrest and alternate Gilbert Dash.
Two-time defending champion China is in second place at 7-1, with its lone loss coming to Canada on Tuesday. The Canadians earned a playoff spot later that day by defeating 2022 Paralympic silver medallists Sweden to move to 6-0.
Canada, ranked second in the world behind China, has reached the wheelchair curling podium at every Paralympics since the sport’s addition in 2006. It won the first three gold medals and took bronze at the last two editions.
Earlier Thursday, Canada’s Michaela Gosselin skied to her fourth top-10 finish in as many events at Milano Cortina, placing eighth in the standing giant slalom.
The Collingwood, Ont., native clocked a total time of two minutes 38.08 seconds across her two runs at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Sweden’s Ebba Aarsjoe (2:22.42) captured her third gold of Milano Cortina. Russia’s Varvara Voronchikhina earned silver in 2:25.26 and France’s Aurélie Richard took bronze in 2:27.04.
Florence Carrier, of Magog, Que., placed 13th in the event while making her Paralympic debut. The 18-year-old is Canada’s youngest athlete at these Games.
Gosselin and Carrier still have the slalom to come on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Gosselin finished fifth in the downhill, ninth in the super-G and seventh in the alpine combined.
Canada has 10 medals through six days of competition in Italy — one gold, three silver, six bronze. The full medal table is available here.
