While it is set for March of next year, it is never too early to start thinking about which teams will take home the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in 2025. At last year’s event, Norway was able to seal the championship win with a fantastic gold medal victory. In the championship matchup against Canada, the Norwegians were able to close out the game with a dramatic 6-2 win and collect the world championship in the process. Regarding the overall standings from that event, it was a loaded affair as the best powers in curling went head to head. In addition to Norway and Canada excelling per usual, China finished as the bronze medal squad in 2024, while Sweden narrowly missed the podium. SBS will explore below what to look for from each team and also who will take home the title in March 2025.
For this report, SBS will be going over what to look for from each of these teams, along with a predicted winner and even more notes and information regarding curling wagering.
Favorites to Win the 2025 World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2025 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Norway | +300 | +300 | +300 |
Canada | +325 | +325 | +325 |
China | +400 | +400 | +400 |
Sweden | +450 | +450 | +450 |
Captained by skip Jostein Stordahl, the Norwegians have a veteran leader with a ton of paralympic experience dating back to 1996. In addition to winning the gold medal last year, he has also received medals at World Championship events (2025 and 2006) and the Paralympic Games (2018). Another athlete to watch out for on this team is Ole Syversen who was part of the gold medal-winning team last year and was with Stordahl when they won the silver medal in 2018 at the Paralympic Games in PyeongChang. However, the most decorated athlete on the Norway squad is Geir Arne Skogstad who has achieved multiple World Wheelchair Championship gold medals (2007, 2008, and 2024) as a fantastic third for Norway. In the past, he has also played skip for his home country.
Headlined by skip Mark Ideson, the Canadians have a fantastic crew that could challenge the Norwegians for supremacy in 2025. After a terrible helicopter accident left him as a quadriplegic, Ideson has been an amazing curler for his home country. In the past, he has notched medal finishes at four different World Championship events, including last year in Gangneung. In terms of other notable athletes on the roster, Ina Forrest is a six-time World Championship medalist in mixed-team curling and has actually been part of three gold medal squads. These occurred in 2009, 2011, and 2013. For all her own accolades in curling, she was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in February 2016. Finally, Jon Thurston is the last highlighted player on this list and another critical piece for the Canadian squad.
The next squad on our list is always a contender to take home the gold thanks to their talented roster. Wang Haitao is one of the most notable players on this team as he participated in the 2014, 2018 Winter Paralympics and 2022 Winter Paralympics, winning gold medals in 2018 and 2022. Additionally, he has also been on the squad in several editions of the World Wheelchair Curling Championships and won two bronze, and one silver medal, and most recently won the 2021 World Wheelchair Curling Championship. Zhang Qiang and Yan Zhuo are the other notable players on this squad who could also make a run at the world title in 2025.
Sweden enters this competition as a team that narrowly missed the podium last season and of course, would like to change that outcome in 2025. With a roster of fantastic curlers, the Swedish team is captained by skip Vilijo Petersson-Dahl who scored a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing. In terms of other notable players on the team, lead Sabrina Johansson won a gold medal at the 2022 World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Championship in Lohja. Meanwhile, Ronny Persson and Marcus Holm make up a squad that is hungry for a podium finish in 2025.
A stacked group of teams, look for Canada to reclaim the world championship in 2025 and again bring the title back home thanks to their dynamic team.
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