When Canada's wheelchair curling team capped an undefeated run with a 4-3 win over China to claim gold at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, the victory marked Canada's first Paralympic gold in the event since 2014.
For Dylan Rusnak, a third-year Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation student majoring in adapted physical activity, the win felt especially meaningful.
Last summer, Rusnak was part of an interdisciplinary student team at Red Deer Polytechnic that developed a virtual reality training tool for Wheelchair Curling Canada. The project was designed to help athletes prepare for Paralympic competition by recreating the visual and spatial experience of being on the ice.
