A look at the Paralympic wheelchair curling standings at Milan Cortina 2026
The wheelchair curling action continued Saturday in Cortina, which featured four mixed doubles contests and the first eight mixed team games of the 2026 Milan Cortina Paralympics.
Steve Emt and Laura Dwyer took a 2-2 record into the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, while skip Matt Thums led his squad in their 2026 Paralympic debut. How did the Americans, and the rest of the field, fare?
Here’s a look at the standings through March 7.
The United States wheelchair curling mixed team competed for the first time at the 2026 Milan Cortina Paralympics and lost a high-scoring contest against China, 12-7. A few hours later, the U.S. fell to Great Britain in extra ends by a score of 6-5.
Sweden, by contrast, opened its mixed team Paralympic journey with two victories, the first coming against Norway (6-2) and the second against South Korea (8-6).
Latvia got crushed by South Korea early Saturday morning and then turned the tables in the afternoon, shellacking Slovakia, 9-0.
Canada and China picked up a victory apiece, as well.
1. Sweden (2-0)
2. Canada (1-0)
2. China (1-0)
4. Great Britain (1-1)
4. South Korea (1-1)
4. Latvia (1-1)
4. Slovakia (1-1)
8. Italy (0-1)
8. Norway (0-1)
10. United States (0-2)
In a crucial round-robin game for both teams, South Korea put on an absolute clinic against the United States in mixed doubles, winning 10-1 in six ends. Emt and Dwyer are caught in a logjam for fourth place with three other teams.
China continued its dominant play, dismantling Estonia 12-2 to improve their sparkling record to 5-0. They’ve scored at least 10 points in four out of their five matches.
Great Britain clobbered Japan, 11-2, to push their winning streak to three.
Italy lost to Latvia, 9-4, putting them in sole possession of last place.
1. China (5-0)
2. Great Britain (3-2)
2. South Korea (3-2)
4. Estonia (2-3)
4. Japan (2-3)
4. Latvia (2-3)
4. United States (2-3)
8. Italy (1-5)
*As of Saturday, March 7
In a few words, not well. Between the mixed team and mixed doubles duo, the U.S. went 0-3 on the day. Here, in a few more words, is how it all went down:
China knocks off United States in mixed team opener
In the mixed team’s 2026 Paralympic Games debut, the United States lost a high-scoring contest to a powerhouse China squad, 12-7.
The countries traded haymakers early on, with the U.S. striking first and grabbing a quick 2-0 lead after the first end thanks to a stellar takeout shot by American skip Thums.
China, the reigning world and Olympic champions, responded immediately with one of their two four-point ends to hold a 4-2 advantage.
Thums and company punched back, putting three on the board in the third with another nice 16th stone takeout shot and some help from a couple of biters (rocks barely touching the outer edge of the house). The U.S. was back in front, 5-4.
In the fourth, however, the Americans struggled mightily to find the house, propelling China to yet another four-spot and an 8-5 lead. From there, it never looked back.
China stole another point in the fifth, and the U.S. had an opportunity to take three in the sixth, but came away with a deuce to cut the deficit to 9-7. A point in the seventh, followed by a steal of two in the eighth, delivered China a 12-7 victory.
South Korea routs the United States in mixed doubles wheelchair curling
In a crucial round-robin game for both teams, South Korea put on an absolute clinic against the United States in mixed doubles, winning 10-1 in six ends.
It began with a steal of three points in the first end, followed by a steal of one in the second. South Korea dotted the house with draw shot after draw shot, while Emt and Dwyer struggled to find it at all.
The Americans finally scored in the third, but South Korea responded with another trey thanks to a series of pinpoint accurate throws by Lee Yongsuk and Baek Hyejin. Halfway through the contest, they led 7-1.
With hammer, Emt and Dwyer elected to utilize their power play in the fifth, hoping to build any kind of momentum. South Korea had none of it, stealing yet another point and doubling down on those efforts in the sixth to steal two more (they wound up stealing seven total across the game).
Trailing 10-1, the U.S. conceded, awarding South Korea an impressive victory and the Americans a crushing defeat. The former moved to 3-2 in round-robin play, while the latter fell to 2-3 with two matches remaining before the four-team semifinal round is locked.
As it currently stands, the U.S. is tied with four other squads for the fourth seed.
Great Britain outlasts U.S. in mixed team thriller
One of two mixed team squads to compete in multiple games on Saturday, the United States squared off against Great Britain in search of its first victory. It took eight, hard fought ends, plus an extra one, but Great Britain finally left Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium with a win.
The nations traded points throughout the contest — there were four lead changes in the first-five ends — and through six, the score was tied, 4-4.
Great Britain had hammer. American Sean O’Neill landed two straight draws near the center of the house, and with three stones left to be thrown in the seventh, Hugh Nibloe delivered a rock that nestled right next to one of O’Neill’s.
Both occupied the button, and from the naked eye, it was difficult to discern which was closer to the middle. After a minute or so of careful examination and inspection of different angles, Nibloe and Great Britain were awarded the point. They led 5-4.
Trailing by one in the final end, the United States were given a golden opportunity to collect two points and the win. With hammer, skip Thums had a fairly open right side of the sheet to work with.
One yellow stone (a Great Britain stone) sat unprotected in the house and one red stone occupied the left side of the tee line, also in the house. If he could take out the yellow while keeping the rock he threw in the house, the U.S. would get a deuce and the match.
However, his throw slightly was too heavy, causing not only Great Britain’s stone to exit the house, but his own, too. Thums did secure a point, though, sending the contest to an extra end.
The best chance the U.S. had in extras came from another O’Neill shot that found the center of the house. With the 12th stone (out of 16), Stewart Pimblett of Great Britain executed a masterful take out, expelling the red stone from the house and replacing it with his own.
Thums overthrew his next stone, sailing over the target and undershot his last one. Great Britain picked up the victory.
The United States (2-3) is scheduled to play their next mixed doubles match on Sunday, March 8 at 9:35 a.m. ET against Italy (1-4). The action will stream live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com and broadcast on CNBC.
