CORTINA, ITALY — After falling behind early, the United States mixed doubles wheelchair curling team of Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt responded with a decisive run through the middle ends to defeat Estonia 8–4 in round-robin play at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

Estonia’s Katlin Riidebach and Ain Villau opened with two points in the first end after a measurement confirmed their stones closest to the button.

The Americans answered immediately. Dwyer delivered a final-stone takeout in the second end that cleared the Estonian shot rock and produced a three-point end, shifting momentum to the United States and igniting the U.S. crowd inside the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.

The turning point came in the following ends as the United States controlled the house with precise draws and well-placed guards. Dwyer opened the third end with a draw nearly onto the button, and the American pair protected scoring stones through the middle of the sheet. When Estonia attempted to remove the U.S. stones, a guard redirected the shot back toward the button, helping the United States secure two more points and extend the lead.

Team USA continued the pressure in the fourth end. Emt delivered a delicate draw that settled onto the button beside another American stone already in the four-foot circle, setting up another scoring opportunity. The United States converted again, carrying a 7–2 lead into the mid-game break.

“We struggled a little bit in the first two games,” Dwyer said afterward. “We needed to pull it together and today we pulled it together. We went back to basics.”

The middle-end surge proved decisive. Estonia managed single points after the break, including one during a fifth-end power play, but the Americans continued to control the pace of the match and added another point of their own to maintain a comfortable advantage.

Throughout the game, Dwyer and Emt repeatedly met between ends near the sideboards, pausing briefly before returning to the sheet.

“It’s box breathing,” Emt explained. “Four breaths in, four seconds holding, four seconds out. It’s a reset for us. Whether we gave up five or scored five, we approach every end like it’s 0–0.”

The approach reflected a conscious reset after the team’s earlier loss to Japan earlier in the day.

Reflecting on the day’s first game, Emt said, “We talked over lunch about getting back to what got us here, the processes and everything that we did to get us here. We weren’t ourselves in the first game, so we just got back to that.”

The United States finished the match with a 60 percent overall shot success rate compared to Estonia’s 34 percent. Emt led the American performance with a 67 percent success rate.

Holding hammer in the eighth end and electing to use a power play, the Americans forced Estonia into a difficult position before the Estonian side conceded prior to the final stone.

As the teams left the ice following the concession, Emt smiled and acknowledged fans chanting “USA,” capping a composed response after the early deficit.

With the victory, the United States improved to 2–1 in round-robin play as the mixed doubles tournament continues in Cortina.