CTVolympics.ca
March 20, 2010

Canada tops Korea to take wheelchair curling gold

Canada's wheelchair curling team held off a hard-charging South Korean rink for an 8-7 win in the gold-medal game at the Vancouver Paralympics on Saturday.

Canada, which nearly blew a seven-point lead in the final, lost just two games in the round robin and qualified for the final after beating Sweden 10-5 in one of the semifinals earlier Saturday.

Leading 8-6 in the eighth and final end, South Korea had the two rocks in the house, but Canadian skip Jim Armstrong cleared one with his final shot to seal the win.

Canada got of to a quick start in the first end, as second Ina Forrest froze her first shot against a South Korean stone and followed that up with another shot right to the four foot.

Armstrong finished off the end with a perfect run back to the four foot to give Canada a 3-0 lead.

Canada benefited from some sloppy play from the South Koreans and led 4-0 after the second.

South Korean skip Kim Haksung had his draw in the third end come up light and was forced to settle for just a single point.

Armstrong then had an open draw for four in the fourth end as Canada opened up an 8-1 lead.

South Korea had shot rock in the fifth and with all kinds of traffic in front of the house, Armstrong made a draw to the four foot with his final stone. But Kim was able to match, clearing out the Canadian stone to bring his rink to within in five.

While South Korea struggled early, Canada's struggles came as the match wore on. South Korea had two stones on the button in the sixth end, but Armstrong couldn't draw around to clear them off with either of his shots. South Korea stole two more to cut the deficit to three at 8-5.

Armstrong was only able to clear out one of two South Korean stones with his final shot in the seventh as the Canadian lead shrank to 8-6.

Also Saturday, Sweden defeated the United States to take bronze.

After suffering a setback when Glenn Ikonen was suspended and then banned for two years for illegal drug use on Friday, Sweden got off to a hot start its match against the United States. Putting up three points in the first end, the Swedish squad led by skip Jalle Jungsell didn't let up, finishing with a score of 7-5.

Earlier Saturday, the Canadian rink beat Sweden 10-5 in the semifinal after taking a commanding lead halfway through the match. Sweden was able to make up three in the fifth end, and a steal of one in the sixth, but after Canada scored two in the seventh, the Swedes conceded the game.

"It all went according to plan," said Canadian third Darryl Neighbour. "You know, that hammer in the first end, to take advantage of it, it just made all the difference in the world.

"They were behind the 8-ball right from the start."

Korea beat the U.S. in their semifinal match with a tight battle for a final score of 7-5. The Koreans tied the match with three in the fourth end, followed by two more steals of one.