Butterfield and Kean clinch first win

Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean hope their first win at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games can spur them on to further success.

The pair beat Latvia 6-5 to clinch their maiden victory at the third attempt in Cortina, as they provided the perfect response to their 14-3 defeat to South Korea earlier on Thursday.

It was a controlled and assured performance from the British pair, who led 5-2 at the halfway stage before holding off a brief Latvian resurgence.

The win kickstarts the pair’s wheelchair curling mixed doubles campaign, which continues against the USA on Friday morning.

“It is about time! We enjoyed that one,” said Butterfield. “It is great to get our first win and hopefully we can build some momentum from that.

“We played so much better. It was a performance, especially in the first half, that we know we can play. That’s the team we know we can be.

“We actually played better this morning than we did last night, although the scoreline didn’t reflect it. We have been building in every game we have played so far. Tonight, we came out even better.”

The pair admitted their start to the campaign had not gone to plan, having lost to Estonia and South Korea in their opening two matches.

But Kean revealed some small tweaks was all that was required to improve their performances and clinch their first victory.

“There was a lot of conversations in the debrief about what the coaches had seen about hitting lines,” said Kean.

“The weights were pretty consistent, but it was more about hitting lines and the set-up.

“We changed a few little things in how we set up our chairs and how we were throwing the lines. It was a lot more consistent. It was a pleasing performance.”

The British pair made a brilliant start, holding Latvia to one in the opening end before taking three in the second as they made full use of the hammer.

Butterfield produced a brilliantly weighted draw to secure the three, curling around a crowded top of the house to lie on the button.

She did the same again in the fourth end after Great Britain again limited the Latvians to one with the hammer, as she found the gap to lie two and establish a 5-2 lead at the break.

It got even better for Butterfield and Kean as they returned to the ice, as they stole one against the hammer before Latvia responded with a steal of their own.

That kept Great Britain in command at 6-3, though it was ultimately a tense final end after Latvia stole another in the seventh.

But it was not enough to overhaul the two-point lead, as hands were shaken before Butterfield could deliver her final stone.

The pair may not have changed too much in their performance to get a maiden victory, but Kean’s lack of hat was a key talking point ahead of the rest of the round robin.

“He calls it his lucky hat” said Butterfield. “I don’t know now if the luck is that he doesn’t wear it. We will find out tomorrow.”