In summary, the Alpine and Nordic ski teams have combined for a total of 8 medals so far; the Sledge hockey and Wheelchair curling teams easily qualified for the semi-finals and four competition days remain: there’s time for more metal.
“Today was a perfect day,” Brian McKeever said. “We’re really confident in Classic races and maybe a little more confident than in the skating events. It’s good for our heads, I think, to know our next race is a Classic.”
When asked how much they have left in the tank, Brian McKeever replied “About 20 more km, I’d guess” in reference to the brothers’ last race of the Games, Sunday’s 20 km Cross country.
“It’s awesome to be on the podium.” said Bourgonje. “This is such a tough group to even make the top 5 and I’m so glad I wasn’t 4th.” It was the third medal of her Paralympic career as she brought home two silvers from Nagano in 1998.
The Canadian Wheelchair Curling team finished the Round Robin ranked #1 with a record of 5 wins and 2 losses and second with an cumulative percentage of 56%, just one percent under Great Britain.
“We’ve had a very good round robin tournament. We’ve pulled together at key moments and defeated top-ranked teams.” commented Skip Chris Daw. “However, tomorrow is another day. We’ll have to win both of our two Games to capture gold.”
Canada’s team is comprised of Daw (London, ON), third Gerry Austguarden (Westbank, BC), second Gary Cormack (Surrey, BC), lead Sonja Gaudet (Vernon, BC) and Alternate Karen Blachford (London, ON). Canada will play semi-finals on March 17th at 11:00am against the winner of the Denmark/Norway tie breaker in Pinerolo, Italy.
The sledge hockey team took advantage of a day off after their toughly fought 4-1 loss to Norway yesterday. The loss had no significance in the standings but helped the team to adjust their sights on one of their main competitors. They now prepare for the March 16 semi-finals. They concluded round robin play in second place of Pool A with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss. Team Canada will play against Pool B’s top team Germany tomorrow. They have defeated Great Britain 9-0 and Italy 12-0.
WHEELCHAIR CURLING STANDINGS – after Round Robin
Rank Team G W L 1 CAN 7 5 2 Qualified 2 GBR 7 4 3 Qualified 2 SWE 7 4 3 Qualified 2 DEN 7 4 3 Tie Breaker 2 NOR 7 4 3 Tie Breaker
