Emphatic 8-4 victory to finish as curlers bow out in Beijing

David Melrose was back at the Ice Cube encouraging his ParalympicsGB teammates from the bench following his shoulder injury yesterday for the Wheelchair Curlers’ final match at Beijing 2022.

Playing a Latvia side that still had an outside chance of reaching the semi-finals, they showed what they are capable of with an emphatic 8-4 victory to finish with four wins and six losses in the round robin.

ParalympicsGB took control early in the match scoring three in the second end to lead 4-0. A fantastic take out with the hammer saw ParalympicsGB move in to a commanding 7-1 lead at the halfway stage. Led by Skip Hugh Nibloe they protected their lead in the last four ends to secure a deserved victory.

Hugh Nibloe said: “We made shots from the start and put Latvia under pressure straight away and we perhaps haven’t done that in earlier matches. Gregor made the shots to put them under pressure and we got a couple of early steals.

“We have had a few slow starts and have then struggled and we have learned it’s so important that we get our preparation right and that leads in to the start of the game. I think we managed to nail that today and its something everyone can learn from.

With three athletes making their Paralympic debut (Gary Smith, David Melrose and Meggan Dawson-Farrell) this team will benefit from the experience of competing on the biggest stage of all.

Hugh Nibloe said: “There is definitely more to come from this team over the last few years we have lost some stalwarts of the team but thankfully we have David, Meggan and Gary and they have all come on so much in the last year and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them as they have the opportunity to get to the very top.”

The British team had an impressive 15-1 victory over Switzerland and competed well against arguably the best teams at Beijing 2022; Sweden and China, only being narrowly beaten on both occasions.

Meggan, who is the youngest member of the team at 29 years old, said: “That victory gives us confidence for the future, we didn’t crumble and we came out with the win.

“Being quite young in the sport is really good as I have a lot of years to go and I can’t wait to see where It takes me.

“Being part of a team made it feel special, as my previous sport (Wheelchair Racing) was being on my own, whereas here I had a whole squad and it was an incredible experience.”

David Melrose said: “I feel rather foolish to be honest to fall out your chair is just daft but other than that I feel pretty good, the medical staff have been just brilliant.

“I consciously made the decision to enjoy every moment. When we are on song and playing well we can beat anybody.”