• Winter Paralympics

Great Britain's wheelchair curlers score first two wins

ESPN staff
March 9, 2014
Aileen Neilson secured a steal to put Great Britain 5-4 up before the final end © Getty Images
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Great Britain's wheelchair curling team gained their first two wins of the Winter Paralympics with victories against Sweden and South Korea in Sochi.

Facing Sweden in their first match of the day, skip Aileen Neilson secured a superb steal to put her Great Britain side 5-4 up before the final end. Neilson kept her cool to secure her side's first victory of the round robin phase.

Later on Sunday, Neilson and Britain were back in action at the Ice Cube Curling Centre, against South Korea. Britain raced into a 3-0 lead but South Korea rallied to draw level with three ends to play.

South Korea took the lead for the first time in the match before the penultimate end, but Neilson's team scored five in the seventh end to move 8-4 up. South Korea conceded and Britain had their second win of the day - a stark contrast to their opening day defeat to world and Paralympic champions Canada on Saturday.

In the men's super-G, Britain's Mick Brennan finished 10th after setting a time of one minute 30.48 seconds. Defending champion Akira Kano claimed the gold medal at Rosa Khutor with a time of one minute 19.51 seconds.

"I had a plan going into it with my coach and once you think you always think I could have pushed a bit more in places, but at the beginning of the day I would have bitten your hand off for a top-10 finish so I have to be happy with that," Brennan told BBC Sport.

"The heat hasn't helped the course, it was bumpy in places and people are giving so much to be here so it's disappointing when they can't make it down, but I did and I want to build from here over the next four years."

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