LOHJA, Finland – A three-point second end was all Canada needed as it defeated Sweden 6-1 in the final on Monday at the World Wheelchair-B Curling Championships.
With the victory, Canada claims the gold medal. By making the final, the team also officially qualified for the 2020 Wheelchair Curling World Championships taking place February 29 to March 7 in Wetzikon, Switzerland. The top three teams each earned a spot.
Canada was skipped by Mark Ideson of London, Ont., joined by Ina Forrest of Armstrong, B.C., Dennis Thiessen of Sanford, Man., and Jon Thurston of Peterborough, Ont. Marie Wright of Moose Jaw, Sask., was the alternate in Monday’s final.
Ideson, Forrest, Thiessen and Wright were all on Canada’s bronze medal winning team at the 2018 Paralympic Games.
In Lohja, the Canadians won five of their six games in the round robin which started November 27. They defeated Italy 11-3, Turkey 10-3, then lost to Finland 6-4 before rebounding to beat Sweden 7-5, Japan 11-3 and Poland 16-3. In the semifinal Canada beat Czech Republic 10-4.
Czech Republic defeated Slovenia 10-7 in the bronze medal game to grab the last of three qualifying spots for the March 2020 worlds.
The Canadians were relegated to the B pool qualifier after placing 10th at the world championships this past March.
Full tournament information: https://worldcurling.org/events/wwhbcc2019/
