Haitao Wang shares legacy of Beijing 2022 and hopes for Milano Cortina 2026

It is three years since Wang Haitao skipped his team to the wheelchair curling gold medal on home ice at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. But for the 35-year-old Chinese athlete, the memories are as vivid as ever.

“I will never forget it in my life,” he said. “It is the most glorious thing as an athlete to be able to participate in the Winter Paralympics held in my own country and win the gold medal.

“When competing in our own country, our families and the audience gave us extremely strong support. Even if we didn't play well, everyone still gave us the greatest support and cheered us on.

Yet it is not the standout memory from his wheelchair curling career. That came four years earlier at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games – and not everything about his recollections is positive.

“In the final, as it was my first time to enter the final of the Paralympics, I had a lot of thoughts,” Wang said. And it is easy to see why.C

Making wheelchair curling history

Difficult as it is to imagine now, given they would go on to top the medal standings at Beijing 2022 by some distance, at stake for China was a first medal of any kind in the Paralympic Winter Games.

And Wang had already been part of several near misses. He was part of the China team that made its wheelchair curling Paralympic debut at Sochi 2014. The team was beaten by Great Britain in the bronze medal match, having been edged out by eventual gold medallists Canada in the semi-finals.

Bronze and silver medals followed in consecutive World Championships before Wang again helped his team contend in 2017. But again, they lost to the eventual champions – this time Norway in the play-offs.

The chance for revenge came the following year in the PyeongChang 2018 gold medal match.

“I played extremely poorly in that game,” Wang said of the rematch with the Norwegians. “I was so nervous that I took a long time to throw a curling stone. I was so afraid of making mistakes that everything around me seemed blurred. I thank my teammates who saved the game.”

China and Wang haven’t looked back from that 6-5 extra-end victory, winning World Championship titles in 2019, 2021 and 2023, on top of gold at Beijing 2022.

As a result, wheelchair curling – and winter sports in general – have grown beyond recognition in China since Wang and his team helped secure that first Paralympic Winter Games medal in 2018.

“More and more importance was attached to winter sports (for athletes with disabilities),” Wang said. “The current stadiums and equipment that we use are all of the world's top level. The other winter Para sports are also getting better and better.

“Although many of our winter sports started late, with the strong support of the country and the earnest efforts of our team, our achievements are getting better and better. 2022 is the best proof.”

Wang, though – the team’s indisputable star – plays down his own role in this explosion of winter sports in China. “Thank you for your recognition [but] it’s our team that is at the world’s top level,” he insisted. 

China’s secret weapon at Milano Cortina 2026

Wang contracted polio when he was a child and found wheelchair curling through a local federation for people with disabilities. He immediately felt at home.

He is now preparing to compete at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. Wheelchair curling competitions will start on 4 March 2026, two days before the Opening Ceremony at the Arena di Verona.

Ten of the world’s best teams will compete in the mixed team tournament at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. The mixed doubles event will be featured for the first time at the Paralympic Games.

“I like wheelchair curling because it is a team sport,” he said. “We fight together as a team instead of fighting alone.”

And fighting soon became the operative word for Wang. The left-handed ‘take-out’ specialist, who says he is “actually quite clumsy in other skills”, has also become known for his noisy outbursts on the ice.

So where does this vocal approach to curling come from?

“When we trained with [China’s non-Paralympic] curling team before, they were really loud when training and competing, as if controlling the curling stone with their shouts,” he explained. “Later, we learned from them. When we threw a good curling stone, everyone was extremely excited and felt that we could control the curling stone with shouts.”

For now, he will let his curling do most of the talking.

Road to Milano Cortina 2026

With one year to go until the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics, he is currently competing at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2025 in Stevenston, Scotland. In addition to China, the teams competing are Canada, England, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Norway, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden and the United States.

The World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2025 will then follow from 11-16.

While Wang is aiming to win another Paralympic gold medal, he says that he tries not to think about his success from past Games. He trains five hours a day when he is not competing.

“I'm really looking forward to it,” Wang said of the year ahead. “I don't know what will happen to me this year. Next, I will train smartly and complete the tasks assigned by the coach. The past is in the past. I will start training anew, find my weaknesses and focus on the process, trying to be more stable physically and mentally.

“I'm still young and my skills are still there. I will continue to strive in the competitions to win glory for the team and myself.

“I really don't know how long I can compete. I hope that after I stop training, I can share my competition experience and insights over the years with future athletes.”

Please visit the official Milano Cortina 2026 ticketing platform for information about tickets for the Paralympic Winter Games.