Team GB's Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean 'devastated' after missing out on wheelchair curling semi-finals

Great Britain's wheelchair curlers Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean were "gutted" after failing to qualify for the semi-finals of the mixed doubles at the Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics. The duo just missed out on the top four of the round robin after a narrow defeat against home nation Italy in their final game. It means Team GB's wait for a medal at these Games continues.

Wheelchair curlers Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean were "devastated" after missing out on the mixed doubles semi-finals at the Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics. 

The British duo needed a victory against Italy on Monday to advance through the round-robin stage of the event, but they suffered a narrow 11-10 defeat against the home nation.

It was the pair's fourth loss from their seven games, resulting in a fifth-placed finish, while the top four progressed to the semi-final stage. 

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Speaking afterwards, Butterfield said: "We're gutted, we're devastated. We came here with a plan, and we didn't quite execute it. 

"The one thing I'll say is that I'm really proud of [Kean] and I'm proud of us. We left it all out there, absolutely everything, and we just fell short at the end. It hurts."

The 46-year-old had been hoping to become the first Brit to win gold at both the summer and winter Paralympics, having triumphed in the club throw at Rio 2016.

Butterfield celebrates her gold medal in the club throw at Rio 2016

Image credit: Getty Images

The Brits did remarkably well to force a deciding end against Italy, having trailed the home team 10-4 at one stage of the contest, but a misjudgement of their final two shots proved costly. 

Kean, making his Paralympic debut, said: "At 10-4 down in the sixth end, I didn't think it was possible to get to an extra end, but we somehow managed to dig it out.

"[I'm] absolutely gutted, but we tried our very best. It hurts quite a lot."

After losing their first two games, Butterfield and Kean claimed successive victories over Latvia, the United States and Japan, taking them up to joint second. 

Knowing one win from their final two games would likely have been enough to progress, they were beaten 10-5 by eventual table-toppers China before the tight loss against the hosts.

Simpson finishes fourth as wait for medal goes on

It means the wait for a medal goes on for Team GB, with para-Alpine skier Neil Simpson earning a second fourth-placed finish of the Games on Monday, failing to defend his super-G title.

The 23-year-old became the first British man to win gold at a Winter Games when he triumphed in the visually impaired super-G alongside his brother Andrew in Beijing in 2022. 

However, Simpson finished 1.1 seconds adrift of the podium places on Monday, following a late switch of guide, two days on from his fourth-placed finish in the downhill event. 

Neil Simpson in action at the Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics

Image credit: Getty Images

"There was some good skiing, so I'm pretty proud. Unfortunately, there were just a couple of mistakes," Simpson said.

"The section where there was a bit more air time and jumps, I just didn't quite have the line there, so that just meant I didn't have the speed over the flat.

"I gave it my best shot; unfortunately, it wasn't to be, but it's something that we need to learn from."

Simpson’s compatriot Fred Warbuton finished in 12th as Austria's Johannes Aigner claimed gold following his victory in Saturday’s downhill.

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