After starting the tournament 4-0, Spallumcheen’s Ina Forrest and Team Canada is now on a three-game slide after dropping its two wheelchair curling games on Tuesday, March 8, at the Beijing Paralympics.
Canada first fell 9-4 to South Korea before a narrow 9-8 loss to Slovakia in a game that saw the two countries exchange the lead a few times.
“We were right there – I just didn’t make the draw at the end of game,” said Canada’s Jon Thurston, who throws last rock. “Obviously, it’s not the outcome we wanted, but I think it was a strong game for us.”
Team Canada alternate Collinda Joseph saw her first Paralympic action against South Korea.
“It was pretty amazing, I have to say,” Joseph said about making her Paralympic debut. “I was kind of shaking at the beginning – physically shaking – so I was trying to calm myself down. So after the first two shots, I got into the rhythm of the game and settled in.”
Canada will look to return to the winners’ circle in its last three games with an aim of finishing top-four to advance into the semifinals.
Canada takes a 4-3 record into the second-last day of preliminary play in Beijing. The team has two more games on tap Wednesday, March 9, taking on Great Britain at 10:35 p.m. (Pacific time, Tuesday) then Estonia at 3:35 a.m. Pacific (Wednesday, March 9)
The Canadians are currently in a three-way tie for fourth in the standings, which will see the top four teams advance into the semifinals. Great Britain is 3-3 and Estonia is 2-4.
• Lumby’s Logan Leach and guide Julien Petit are slated to return to the Para Alpine slopes in Beijing Wednesday, March 9, looking for a podium spot in the men’s visually impaired giant slalom.
The duo have cracked the top-10 in each race thus far, finishing ninth (downhill), seventh (super giant slalom) and sixth (super combined).
READ MORE: B.C. teen wins world’s toughest, coldest foot race
READ MORE: Salmon Arm’s Natalie Wilkie captures gold at 2022 Paralympic Winter Games
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