Alumna Collinda Joseph Wins Gold in Wheelchair Curling
By Courtney Buchanan
There’s a quiet familiarity to the Paralympic stage for Collinda Joseph — the lights, the stillness before a delivery, the weight of a nation watching. She’s been here before. She knows what it takes to go head-to-head with the world’s best and compete for the top spot on the podium.
At the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, Joseph and Team Canada captured gold in wheelchair curling, a moment that marked both a personal triumph and the culmination of years of perseverance. Just four years ago, Joseph was an alternate for Canada’s wheelchair curling team at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing, where they earned bronze. This time, she returned to play as the team’s lead and left with the top prize, the result of unwavering dedication to her craft.
“To have that happen was incredible, and so it just was a bit of shock, excitement and some happy tears. It was a wonderful moment,” she shared about winning gold.
Joseph, an Ottawa local, graduated from Carleton University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science, and continues to reside in the capital, working as the Manager of Accessibility and Education at Accessibility Standards Canada.
Active in several adaptive and para sports, including years of playing wheelchair basketball, Joseph first picked up a rock and tried wheelchair curling while attending a Give it a Go event at a local recreation centre. She took to the sport immediately, ready to trade the court for the rink. In winter 2006, after a year of looking for opportunities to get back on the ice, a spot finally opened up on an Ottawa-based team — she joined and never looked back.
By the early 2020s, Joseph had become an experienced and decorated curler with a consistent presence on the international stage. A member of Canada’s wheelchair curling team at the last six World Championships, she steadily built her reputation as a reliable and focused competitor, including serving as lead at the 2025 Worlds.
Joseph and her fellow Team Canada members are no strangers to the podium, ranking second in the world leading up to the Games.
“Our opponents come out really strong when they play against us. I think we draw the best out of people because Canada is a curling nation, so we’re getting the best out of the teams,” Joseph said of the competition.
As medal contenders, that spotlight only intensified the challenge — but their composure and precision as teammates would contribute to their success and to Canada’s ongoing medal streak in wheelchair curling. Jospeh and her teammates’ win made history, making Canada the first nation to ever finish the tournament undefeated and the only country to win a medal in wheelchair curling at all six Paralympic Winter Games since the sport first was first introduced in 2006.
While taking home gold was a defining moment for Joseph, and for Team Canada, having her support system in the stands added another layer of significance.
“Winning the medal was incredible, but one of the highlights was being able to share that experience with friends and family,” she said. “Having them there, witnessing it in person and celebrating with us, made the moment even more meaningful.”
The two-time Paralympian recently returned home, ready to take some time and settle back into normal life before shifting focus to the 2027 World Championships and the 2030 Paralympic Games.
“I’m just really proud of this team, and proud of everything that we’ve accomplished this year,” she said. “I’m hoping to just kind of enjoy the moment for a little while.”