Canada ousted by U.S. in playoffs at wheelchair curling worlds
Canadians' 4-game win streak comes to an end ahead of semifinals
Canada's journey at the wheelchair curling championship has come to a close after losing to the United States in the playoffs on Friday.
Though Canada entered with confidence and a win streak of four games, the Americans came out on top, trumping the team 6-4 at Beijing's Ice Cube.
With a place in the semifinals on the line, the Canadians had entered the game with a 7-4 record. But it was the U.S. who had the hammer, having gained a 8-3 record that put them in fourth place in the round-robin standings, just one ahead of the Canadians.
It was the first tournament for Canadian skip Mark Ideson, Ina Forrest, Dennis Thiessen, Jon Thurston, alternate Collinda Joseph and coach Mick Lizmore since the 2020 worlds.
While the first end saw both teams scoreless, the Americans notched two points in the second end. The team would stay in the lead until the seventh end, where Canada tied it up at four a piece. The U.S. earned two more points and the win in the eighth.
Though the United States moved on in the tournament, the team was defeated 8-5 in the semifinal, with their opponents of China — the 2018 Paralympic gold medallists — moving on to the gold-medal game.
China will face Sweden, who reached 12-3 in the seventh end of their semifinal game against RCF, who condeded.
The United States will play RCF for bronze.
