‘Dedication, commitment, sacrifice’: Londoner prepares to compete in 2026 Paralympic Winter Games

London Paralympic curler Mark Ideson is in Italy getting prepared for his first match Saturday, CTV London's Lauren Stallone catches up with him.

Londoner Mark Ideson is preparing to compete in Italy for his fourth Paralympic Winter Games

“While I was in the hospital, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t play any sport that I played able bodied,” said Ideson.

He was involved in a helicopter crash in 2007, which left him with a spinal cord injury.

“Luckily I broke that promise and gave curling a try,” said Ideson. “Wheelchair curling because I had actually played curling able bodied and I wasn’t very good at it, I’m certainly way better sitting down then standing up.”

Ideson won paralympic gold in 2014 and bronze medals in 2018 and 2022, but what he’s most proud of is something much bigger.

“The sport itself is important for physical and mental health but also finding community is really important,” said Ideson.

Team Canada’s wheelchair curling team doctor Steven Macaluso says Paralympic athletes have to overcome a ‘unique’ set of barriers.

“It’s a lot of practice, dedication, commitment, sacrifice,” he said. “I think the families of the athletes know that more than probably anyone else.”

Macaluso said it takes a group of dedicated individuals to ensure Canada’s Paralympic athletes are ready to compete.

“It’s obviously a process of rehabilitation,” said Macaluso. “It’s a lot of hard work on behalf of the person themselves in the recovery process but it takes a team.”

As Ideson prepares for his first 2026 Paralympic Game on March 7, he is turning to tradition for a little extra luck.

“I hide a looney in the ice, around the ice surface,” said Ideson. “It’s been a tradition since I started in 2014.”