Two granite curling stones were stolen from Italy's Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium just before the wheelchair mixed doubles competition debuted at the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympics. Discovered during a routine check around March 3-4, the theft prompted an investigation, but adjusted spare stones allowed events to proceed uninterrupted amid ongoing curling controversies.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympics kicked off wheelchair curling on March 4-5, featuring a new mixed doubles format with pairs of male and female athletes competing in eight-end matches without sweeping to emphasize precision from behind the hog line. The opening ceremony is scheduled for March 6 at Verona Olympic Arena.
Organizers found two stones missing from the yellow set on Sheet A during a routine check on Monday, March 3, or Tuesday evening, March 4. Each 42-pound stone, valued at around $960 or £750 and made by Kays Curling in Mauchline, Scotland, from Ailsa Craig granite, had been used in the recent Olympic mixed doubles tournament. They vanished overnight before competition.
World Curling spokesperson Chris Hamilton confirmed: "Unfortunately there has been a situation where two stones were stolen from the venue. The local authorities are currently investigating." Replacement stones from the same set were quickly adjusted to match specifications. Teams were informed at a meeting in Cortina, with U.S. national wheelchair program director Pete Annis noting after his team's 11-6 win over Latvia: “Obviously, they have really good stones, and they’re just going to replace them... It’s not an issue to us.”
Early results included Italy's 7-5 victory over South Korea, Estonia 10-7 over Great Britain, and China 10-3 over Japan. No suspects have been identified, and the mixed doubles schedule continues uninterrupted until March 11.
The theft heightens scrutiny on curling following Winter Olympics controversies, including Sweden's Oskar Eriksson accusing Canada's Marc Kennedy of double-touching a stone, prompting Kennedy's expletive response and debates on hog-line policing. Canada was cleared, won gold—their first in men's curling since 2014—and World Curling briefly added umpires before reverting to self-policing.
