Curling excitement has sparked controversy at the Winter Paralympics even before the first match has begun. The Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium reported the theft of two curling stones, each weighing 42 pounds, used in the mixed doubles and wheelchair mixed doubles competitions.
Chris Hamilton, a representative from World Curling, confirmed the incident, stating that the stones were taken from the venue without further details on how the theft occurred. Authorities are currently investigating the matter.
The organizing committee for Milano Cortina 2026 assured that replacement stones have been secured, ensuring no disruption to the competition. The Paralympic teams were briefed on the situation during team meetings, and alternate stones from the mixed doubles set have been prepared to meet competition standards.
Both the Olympic and Paralympic tournaments have separate sets of competition rocks, all belonging to World Curling. The stolen stones, part of the mixed doubles set, had not been used in a competition until the Olympics, while the four-person set had seen action at the world junior curling championships last April.
The wheelchair mixed doubles curling event kicks off on Wednesday in Cortina, with the four-person wheelchair curling event following on Saturday. The Paralympics’ opening ceremony is scheduled for Friday, March 6.