10 March 2019
Silver for Aileen and rink at curling Worlds
Aileen Neilson could hold her head high despite just missing out on gold at the Wheelchair Curling World Championships in Stirling.
The Scottish skip, a bronze medallist in the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, fought hard during a tactical final against the defending Paralympic champions.
But Haitao Wang’s Chinese rink emerged 5-2 winners after eight ends, the first time they’ve claimed the world title.
“We had really high hopes ahead of this final of coming away with that gold medal,” said Neilson, whose rink included lead Robert McPherson, second David Melrose, third Hugh Nibloe, and alternate Gary Logan.
“There were a couple of loose shots, I felt – if I had got that two earlier on and a better guard in end seven – it could have been very different.
There is a tinge of disappointment, but overall it is great to have won silver and we just have to build on this week and come back and get that illustrious gold medal next time.
“However, after our start to the week if I had been offered a silver medal I would have been happy with that. Obviously finishing on a loss isn’t easy, but getting on the podium on home ice in front of all our supporters is fantastic.
“They were worthy winners and they were probably the best team here this week, however we became more consistent as the week progressed and we did manage to make sure we were peaking in our performances at the end of the tournament.
“Overall, to have that gold medal experience and to have my second silver at a world champs and this time on home ice with lots of Scottish supporters, it doesn’t get much better than that. This silver medal is all the more special because of that and it is something that I will never forget.”
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