Canada's wheelchair curling team completes perfect Paralympic campaign, claiming 1st gold since 2014

Canada's wheelchair curling team won its fourth Paralympic title and first since 2014 on Saturday with a 4-3 victory over defending champion China at the Milano-Cortina Games.

Canada's rink, which includes skip Mark Ideson, lead Collinda Joseph, second Ina Forrest, third Jon Thurston and alternate Gilbert Dash, won all 11 of its games in Italy.

The back-and-forth gold-medal game came down to the final stones with the score tied 3-3. It appeared the Canadians would not have to throw their final rock after opposing skip Wang Haitao sent China's heavy through the house, leaving Canada seemingly in position for the decisive single.

But with Canada's thinking-time clock winding down and no official call, Ideson delivered the final shot with 2.8 seconds left to avoid the forfeit and tap it in for the win.

Thurston, who also serves as vice-skip, wasn't certain which team held the closest stone before the last shot, leading to the hectic finish.

"I'd say it was a bit of a gamble," Ideson said. "But you know what? Jon wasn't 100 per cent sure, and if you're not 100 per cent sure then you've got to make sure. We definitely didn't want to lose the game on a measure.

"I also didn't want to lose the game by running out of time. We managed to get it away. I had a really good feel on my first run, so we just got it through the same weight and the same path and just gave it a little nudge and got it away in time."

Thurston also spoke about the moment of uncertainty after the game.

"My guess would be that we were shot [winning]. It looked like it on the screen but I also didn't want to lose the Paralympic Games because my guess is wrong," Thurston said. "We were tight on time, but I was trying to relay [to Ideson], you need to play the tap to make sure that we're shot."

Ideson opened the scoring in the second end with a perfect draw to the button for a single in front of the roaring crowd at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. The teams traded singles for the next five ends, leaving the game tied entering the eighth and final end with Canada holding the hammer.

Canada is the only country to win a wheelchair curling medal at every Paralympics since the sport's addition in 2006, winning the first three tournaments before earning bronze in the last two.

"It's amazing, I can't express in words really how it feels," said the 60-year-old Joseph. "It's what we worked for all year and to have it actually come true in this fashion is spectacular."

The "Cardiac Canadians" made history Thursday by becoming the first team ever to go 9-0 in the preliminary round at the Paralympics. The team's round-robin campaign included a 9-4 win over previously unbeaten China, which was searching for its third straight title.

Canada defeated South Korea 8-7 in the semifinals on Friday with a steal of three in the final end.