Wheelchair curling lead Collinda Joseph out to prove age is just a number at Milano-Cortina Games

During my first conversation with Collinda Joseph, what struck me the most was her sense of competition.

Not only is she a two-time Paralympian, but she is Team Canada’s wheelchair curling lead. Joseph, 60, is a dedicated athlete and remains focused on battling for top of the podium with her team.

Joseph was an alternate for the 2022 Beijing Paralympics, and now has a starting role for Team Canada in the mixed event. Her journey to the sport began in 2006 when she had an opportunity to try it out. Joseph played wheelchair basketball for many years but it was starting to wear out her shoulders but so she wanted to stay in a competitive sport. She instantly fell in love with it.

Coincidentally, 2006 was also the same year that wheelchair curling was officially added to the Paralympics program, and Canada won the inaugural Olympic gold medal.

“It was great to see that,” Joseph told CBC Sports. “It was quite something to watch and think, ‘Oh! I want that someday!’ and I was never going to get there with wheelchair basketball. But I knew that the Paralympic Games was golden.”

Joseph is part of a five-person, mixed gender wheelchair curling team consisting of Gilbert (Gil) Dash, Ina Forrest, Jon Thurston and Mark Ideson who will compete in Cortina.

Canada has medalled at every Winter Paralympics since. Joseph knows this history and wants to continue winning. Her sharp strategy and love for the sport are part of her arsenal along with her perspective.

Joseph told me that one of the things she loves about wheelchair curling is that it is both an individual and a team sport. She has two shots that she must throw and that result has an impact on the team overall. She loves learning and perfecting her skill.

“The other part I