Paralympics investigation launched as equipment | Sports News

Curling has spent many years battling a fame for being uninteresting amongst informal followers who tune in solely during the Olympics. The 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics could have single-handedly shifted that notion following sudden developments each on and off the ice.

Just days earlier than the Winter Paralympics obtained underway in Milan-Cortina, authorities had been compelled to open a new investigation after two Olympic curling stones vanished mysteriously forward of wheelchair curling’s opening on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, three-medal Team China ice skater Eileen Gu hit back at critics, together with JD Vance, for not representing Team USA during the video games. World Curling publicly acknowledged their considerations simply hours earlier than the beginning of combined doubles wheelchair competitors, studies The Mirror US.

“Unfortunately, there has been a situation where two stones were stolen from the venue,” a World Curling spokesperson stated in a assertion. “The local authorities are currently investigating.”

The lacking stones are removed from odd rocks and bear little resemblance to the average boulder discovered scattered throughout typical American landscapes. Their significance stems from having been used during the Olympic combined doubles match earlier within the Winter Games.

The stones are valued at almost $960 every, for a complete of $1,920. Their true significance, nevertheless, lies within the precision craftsmanship particularly calibrated for Olympic-level competitors. Each stone is meticulously matched with others in its set to guarantee uniform efficiency on the ice.

Despite the theft, organizers made sure there have been no interruptions to the Paralympic competitors schedule. Replacement stones had been secured and adjusted to fulfill the precise specs of the stolen set, as required by each the Olympics organizing committee and World Curling.

Teams had been notified of the state of affairs previous to competitors. World Curling confirmed that the opening matches, starting with Great Britain versus Estonia, would go forward as deliberate with the alternative equipment.

Italian authorities are analyzing security footage to determine these accountable for the theft of curling stones utilized in a current Olympic match. As of Wednesday, the stones stay lacking with no suspects recognized.

Some have speculated whether or not the theft could have been meant as a prank or an effort to disrupt the first-ever Paralympic combined doubles curling occasion, fairly than for financial gain, particularly since solely two stones had been taken from a customary set of sixteen.

The incident added one other chapter to Curling’s turbulent period of publicity, together with a “double-touching” dishonest accusation during a match between Canada and Sweden during the Olympics. Swedish roller Oskar Eriksson alleged that Canada’s Marc Kennedy illegally contacted the granite physique of a stone after releasing the deal with past the road of play.

The intense and profanity-laced confrontation sparked widespread online consideration, prompting Kennedy’s defiant post-Olympics interview following his Gold medal victory.