The first US mixed doubles wheelchair curling team, Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt, lost their round-robin matchup to Britain's Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on March 6. The contest showcased athletes' triumphs over paralysis and cancer amid record female participation.
Laura Dwyer, 48, from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and partner Steve Emt—the historic first US team to qualify for Paralympic mixed doubles wheelchair curling after winning national trials—faced Britain's Jo Butterfield, 46, and Jason Kean in round-robin play on Friday, March 6, 2026, following earlier games on March 5. The Americans fell to the British pair.
Dwyer, a former landscaper and mother paralyzed in a 2012 tree branch accident that severed her spinal cord, discovered wheelchair curling years later and partnered with Emt, a two-time national champion. "This is the greatest opportunity in the world, to show others what it looks like to work hard towards a goal," Dwyer said.
Butterfield's path to the ice began with paralysis from a rare complication during 2011 spinal tumor surgery. Undeterred, she earned gold in club throwing at the 2016 Rio Summer Paralympics. After switching to wheelchair curling when club throw was dropped, she claimed a world medal within six months. A breast cancer diagnosis during training for these Games interrupted progress, but chemotherapy and curling sessions kept her focused: "When I was on the ice training, it was the only time I didn’t think about it. It was my happy place." Now cancer-free, Butterfield seeks to become the first Briton with Paralympic golds in both Summer and Winter events.
The matchup contributes to a record 160 female athletes at Milano Cortina 2026, up 24 from Beijing 2022.
