Team Canada heads into bronze-medal match at the 2025 World Wheelchair Curling Championship

A couple difficult games laid in front of Team Canada on Friday at the 2025 World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Stevenston, Scotland.

Day 1 of the playoffs saw Team Canada overcome defending champion Team Norway, 6-4, before coming up short 5-4 against top-seeded Team China in the semifinal.

Friday was off to a great start as the Canadians eagerly took the ice for a game they had been waiting for since the gold-medal match at the 2024 World Wheelchair Curling Championship in South Korea when they won the silver medal. The Canadians figured the Norwegians out by Friday morning to win by scoring two in an extra end.

“It was a great battle,” said Canadian fourth, Jon Thurston (Dunsford, Ont.), after the win against Norway. “We had some complex situations, but Gil navigated it really well, and he called a great game, so I’m just super happy to get the win.”

The team played arguably its best game of the week against Team Norway on Friday before they encountered Team China for the semis.

“China had to fight hard to get by us, and we nearly pulled it off,” said Canadian skip Gilbert Dash (Kipling, Sask.). “It was so close, and I’m really proud of our team. That’s the world number one team that we were playing against. Our fivesome really came together, and I’m very proud of them.”

While Thurston’s draw for two to force an extra end against Team China fell just short of the rings, in the seventh end, he made a difficult wide come-around draw to the four-foot to force China to one, and positioned Canada to apply pressure at the end. Despite a slow start, the team was able to build momentum throughout the game.

The Canadians generated lots of opportunities but just couldn’t string key shots together in the moment. Nonetheless, the Canadian team stuck beside each other and will come back on Saturday to take on Team Slovakia for the bronze medal in a rematch of the 2022 Paralympic Games bronze-medal game.

“The fact that this version of Team Canada, which sees three players playing in different positions including a new skip, achieved the success they saw this week is a testament to the strength of the National Program and the broader wheelchair community in Canada,” said head coach Mick Lizmore.

All games will be available to watch live on the Curling Channel.

For live scores, standings, and statistics for the 2025 World Wheelchair Curling Championship, click here.