Canada secures two medals at inaugural Wheelchair Curling Invitational

Team Canada Red and Team Canada White both reached the podium Sunday, as wheelchair curling took the spotlight at the inaugural Grand Slam of Curling (GSOC) Wheelchair Invitational.

Canada Red, skipped by Mark Ideson (London, Ont.), captured the gold medal with a 7–2 win over Great Britain. Earlier, Canada White, led by Chrissy Molnar (Trent Lakes, Ont.), claimed bronze after beating Italy 5–4. The medal games were staged in front of crowds at London’s Western Fair Sports Centre alongside the GSOC AMJ Masters finals, a rare and welcomed spotlight for wheelchair curling on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

The week began at the KW Granite Club in Waterloo, Ont., with a double round robin. In its opener, Canada Red staged a key comeback against Great Britain, scoring four in the eighth end to steal the win on a measure.

Canada White also opened with a victory, besting Italy 6–4 and later regrouped to deliver a strong performance in the bronze-medal match. Against Italy, the Canadians pulled ahead 5–2 in the seventh end, and Italian skip Egidio Marchese had a must-make final stone to force an extra end, but he overthrew it, handing Canada White the win.

For Molnar, a newer member of the National Wheelchair Curling Program, the bronze marked a milestone moment after serving as an alternate at last season’s world championship.

“I felt confident, actually,” said Molnar. “The ice was really tricky, so it took a little while to figure it out, but we think we handled it well.

“It was special having the cheering section during the game. I was trying to tune everybody out, but at the end, I was taking it all in. It was amazing, and hearing O Canada! for us was so special.”

The Canadian anthem was especially emotional this time around, as fans celebrated three-time Paralympian Dennis Thiessen (Sanford, Man.) for an exceptional career as he announced his retirement on Sunday from competitive curling.

“That’s when I really lost it,” said Thiessen. “That was very, very special, and I’m sure a lot of people didn’t know how much that meant to me. That’s a moment that I’ll treasure forever.”

Ideson, meanwhile, looked right at home returning to the four-person game after a season in mixed doubles. Canada Red thrived on the arena ice and seized the opportunity to showcase the best of wheelchair curling to a new audience.

“It was a great game; a great week,” said Ideson. “It was really neat to have my family and friends there. Most of my friends haven’t seen me curl competitively before, and this really is a meaningful event for us to be part of.”

That spotlight extended beyond the competition itself. On Thursday night, wheelchair curlers joined some of the biggest names in able-bodied curling—including Team Homan and Team Mouat—for short integration matches that blended able-bodied and wheelchair curling on the same ice.

“There was mutual respect on the ice on Thursday night,” said Ideson. “We were all just curling together. Just people, just athletes out there having fun and making shots. I think the sport and the integration of the sport have come a long way since I started curling. Thursday night was just proof of how well integration games work.

“I hope that this is only the first of many. From all the people I’ve talked to in and around the event, it’s been very well-received. We’ve had an absolute blast, and I’m hopeful we can just build on this momentum. Our head coach, Mick Lizmore, deserves all the accolades for setting this up with The Curling Group.”

The impact of this exposure is hard to overstate. From inspiring new fans to encouraging future athletes, the GSOC Wheelchair Invitational left an undeniable mark. With the 2026 Winter Paralympics right around the corner, it’s clear that the Canadian wheelchair curling team’s audience is only going to grow.

The medal games are available to watch on Rock Channel.

This story will be posted in French as soon as possible at https://www.curling.ca/fr/nouvelles-media/