Two curling stones designated for the inaugural mixed doubles wheelchair competition at the Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina have been stolen, just hours before the preliminary rounds were set to begin. The theft occurred at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, according to World Curling.
A spokesperson for World Curling confirmed the incident to the Press Association, stating that local authorities are investigating the theft. The missing stones had previously been used in the Olympic mixed doubles tournament.
Organisers have confirmed that spare stones, brought up to the required specifications, will be used in place of the stolen ones. ParalympicsGB was informed of the situation, but it did not affect British duo Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean, who began their competition against Estonia as planned.
This incident follows recent controversy in the sport, including accusations of cheating during last month’s Winter Olympics. Sweden's men's team accused Canadian curlers of double touching their stones, leading to increased monitoring by officials. Canada's women's team also faced scrutiny after a stone was removed for double touching during a loss to Switzerland.
Canadian curler Rachel Homan rejected the cheating allegations, stating, "There's no chance that Canadians would ever intentionally cheat." Canada's men's team went on to win gold, defeating Team GB in the final.
