WHEELCHAIR CURLING KICKS OFF 2026 PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES
[EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, March 4, 2026] — The Curling Stadium in Cortina takes center stage once again, as Wheelchair Curling kicks off the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games.
Mixed Doubles teams will be the first on the ice, with Americans Laura Dwyer (Oconomowoc, WI) and Steve Emt (Hebron, CT) representing the country as this discipline makes its debut at the Paralympics. Dwyer and Emt earned the right to be Team USA by winning a best Two-of-Three final against Penny Ricker and David Samsa at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Trials this past November in Sioux Falls, SD. This will be a third Paralympic appearance for Emt, and the second for Dwyer.
With Mixed Doubles and Mixed Team (four players plus an alternate) running concurrently, players will not compete in both disciplines in Cortina. With Dwyer and Emt on the ice for Mixed Doubles, the Wheelchair Mixed Curling team includes Matthew Thums (Wausau, WI), Oyuna Uranchimeg (Chaska, MN), Sean O’Neill (Falmouth, MA), Dan Rose (Tomah, WI), and Katie Verderber (Valier, MT). For Thums and Uranchimeg, this will be a second Paralympic appearance. O’Neill, Rose, and Verderber will make their debut at these Games. The teams will be supported in Cortina by Wheelchair National Team Director Pete Annis and Wheelchair National Team Coach Clare Moores.
Wheelchair Curling made its Paralympic debut in 2006, and the Mixed Doubles discipline was added following the 2022 Beijing Games. Team USA will be hoping to earn its first medal in the sport at these Games, improving on a fifth-place finish in 2022. Both the Mixed and Mixed Doubles teams qualified directly for the Paralympics based on recent world championship results, and captured silver at the 2023 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
USA Curling CEO Dean Gemmell noted, “Our Paralympians have been fully committed to training for this moment, and we look forward to watching them perform under the spotlight of the Games. The team features a blend of veterans and newcomers, and our Mixed Doubles team has already experienced the intense pressure of a Trials. We can’t wait to see how these Games unfold.”
Fans can find the full schedule of Wheelchair Curling coverage on Peacock and the NBC family of networks here.
About USA Curling
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA Curling is the National Governing body for the Olympic sport of curling and the Paralympic sport of wheelchair curling in the United States. The mission of USA Curling is to grow, strengthen, and advocate for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of curling in the United States by prioritizing accessibility and programmatic development from grassroots to podium. USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, the Dale’s family of beers, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Ice, Sports & Solar (ISS), Rock Solid Productions, Jet Ice, and Laurie Artiss. USA Curling is a proud member of World Curling and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. To learn more, visit usacurling.org.
