Canada have returned to the summit of wheelchair curling, edging out the reigning champions, China, 4-3 to earn their fourth gold medal in this blue riband event at the Winter Paralympics. A tense encounter was decided by the very last shot of the match as skipper Mark Ideson struck a perfectly judged hit and roll to take a solitary, definitive point in the eighth end.
Both teams had entered the final in impressive form. The only defeat for China had come at the hands of the Canadians in the round robin stage, with the North Americans themselves unbeaten. In front of a full house in the Cortina curling arena, and with loud partisan support for both sides, it was a match of nip and tuck.
One key factor in the outcome was determined almost at the off. As the rivals took turns to knock out each other’s draws in the opening end, the house was standing empty as Ideson rolled up to take the final stone. Instead of playing for a solitary point, however, he opted to send his stone out of bounds, blanking and retaining the hammer into a second end. This limited Chinese options at a stroke and turned out to be a crucial tactic.
With neither team wanting to leave themselves vulnerable to a multiple score, play was conservative and Canada led just 2-1 by the halfway point. In the fifth end, China’s Li Nana took the lead and followed a take out with a perfect draw into the heart of the house that pulled China level. In end six a double hit and roll from Wang Haitao looked to have given China an in, only for Ideson to seal a point with the final stone.
The seventh was fraught with multiple stones in play as the end came to a climax. A double hit from Jon Thurston – who had gone viral earlier in the week with an even more impressive hit and roll – looked to have potentially decided the match. China called a time out and hit back through Zhang Qiang with another double knock to claim another solitary point and make the final end decisive.
Chinese players would utter guttural roars with every stone they sent sliding down the sheet, a move that must have had some psychological intent as it was unlikely the stone would hear them. Canada’s raucous supporters cheered every shot whether draw or out of bounds.
The final end began with Li setting up a double guard at the gate, in a defensive move that meant any shot would have to be played with the deftest of curls. Going second, Ina Forrest rose to that particular challenge with her first stone, only for Zhang to then edge her out, his stone kissing the edge of the middle green ring. Thurston and Wang traded blows with no effect on the score and that left Ideson and Wang to contest the final knockings.
Wang came up too short with his first stone. Ideson found a draw, but one that still sat marginally short of Zhang’s earlier effort. Wang, no doubt feeling the pressure of a contest so finely balanced, shanked his final stone and it crashed out of bounds.
Ideson came up to the tee line for his final and sized up the field. After claiming gold in Sochi, Ideson had had to make do with two bronze medals at the Games since and he didn’t allow this chance to pass. He sent his stone slowly down the right-hand side, looking to clip the edge of his previous effort. The connection was perfect, the movement just enough and with the hall erupting in noise Ideson span and raised a fist to the Canadian crowd.
