TEAM USA TAKES FOURTH PLACE AT WORLD WHEELCHAIR CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP
© WCF / Alina Pavlyuchik 2021
The Wheelchair Curling National Team finished an impressive fourth place at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship last week at the Ice Cube in Beijing, China. The USA Curling Wheelchair National Team is comprised of team members Matthew Thums, Steven Emt, David Samsa, Oyuna Uranchimeg, and Pam Wilson. They are joined by Wheelchair Curling National Team Coach Rusty Schieber and USA Curling Wheelchair National Team Director Pete Annis.
Last season, Team USA battled their way into the World Wheelchair Championship by winning gold at the 2020 World Wheelchair-B Curling Championship, moving them out of relegation and the opportunity to earn Paralympic Qualification Points at the 2021 World Wheelchair Curling Championship.
The Wheelchair Curling National Team has trained hard this past season to prepare for this World Championship event with the main goal of earning enough Paralympic Qualification Points to qualify themselves for the 2022 Winter Paralympics.
“These athletes bought in and never looked back,” said Wheelchair Curling National Team Coach Rusty Schieber. “They have given all they’ve got for the last 20 months, and it starts again March 3rd, " which is when the Team USA kicks off the 2022 Paralympic Games.
Before the week ended at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship, the National Wheelchair Team had already qualified themselves for the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, China, but their run didn’t stop there. The team qualified for the playoffs with an 8-3 record through round-robin play. Team USA faced off against Canada in the 4v5 Qualification Game and came out with a 6-4 win to head into the semi-finals against China, who is the reigning Paralympic Champion. After falling to China in the semi-final, the United States played for the Bronze medal against RCF and came up just short of bringing home hardware.
While this week has been exciting and offers much to be proud of, Team USA is already gearing up to bring their best to the 2022 Winter Paralympics in March 2022 with their sights on the podium.
USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, Toyota, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Brakebush, ISS (Ice, Sports & Solar), and Sitrin, and is partnered with IHG, Rock Solid Productions Inc., Laurie Artiss Ltd. – The Pin People, and United Airlines.
