Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt from Wisconsin have made history as the first United States wheelchair mixed doubles curling team to qualify for the Paralympic Winter Games. The pair, who are two-time national champions, earned their spot by winning trials in South Dakota. They aim to compete in the event in March, marking the debut of the mixed doubles format in the Paralympics.
Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt, both from Wisconsin, are set to compete as the inaugural United States team in wheelchair mixed doubles curling at the Paralympic Winter Games in March. This will be the first inclusion of the mixed doubles discipline in the Paralympic program, as Dwyer noted: "It's the first time that mixed doubles is going to be introduced in the Paralympic Games."
The athletes have built an impressive record since partnering. Over two years, they have lost only one domestic game and hold the title of two-time national champions. Their qualification came after winning the trials in South Dakota, as Emt described: "In two years, we've only lost one game domestically. Internationally, a couple more, but we're the two-time national champions now. Went to South Dakota, winning the trials there."
Both reached Paralympic curling following personal tragedies that resulted in paralysis. Dwyer, a former landscaper and mother of two, suffered a spinal cord injury at T-12 in May 2012 when a 1,000-pound tree branch fell 40 feet onto her, breaking her back in 26 places. She reflected on the challenges: "It absolutely changed my life. I was a landscaper for 18 years prior to my accident and a mom of two young boys. What am I gonna do? What will my life look like moving forward? How am I gonna be a mom? How am I going to earn a living? How am I gonna manage in a wheelchair?"
Emt's path began 31 years ago at age 25, when a drunk driving incident left him paralyzed. The former University of Connecticut basketball player was driving at about 100 miles per hour around 2 a.m., passed out, and his truck cartwheeled off the road, rolling 70 yards before he was ejected. He recalled: "I woke up, and I was told you're never gonna walk again." The accident led to a period of deep depression, where he hit rock bottom: "There was a month after my crash where I had two days where I couldn't get out of bed... I was allowing all of these negative thoughts... And I thought about doing harm to myself."
Now, 12 years after Dwyer's accident, both are focused on the upcoming competition. Emt expressed their determination: "When we get the gold medal wrapped around our neck, it's not going to be about that moment right there... It's going to be about the last 31 years for me and the last 12 years of getting knocked down... But you know what, we keep on going. We keep battling, we pick ourselves up."
