Englishman Stewart Pimblett aims to make wheelchair curling history

Pimblett and Lenton lost out to the USA for a semi-final place at last year's Worlds

English wheelchair curler Stewart Pimblett has an eye on history as he prepares for the World Championships in South Korea.

Pimblett will be taking part in the mixed doubles event in Gangneung from 11-16 March.

His ultimate aim is to be part of the Great Britain team for the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan-Cortina.

If the 54-year-old is selected, he would be in line to become the first non-Scot to represent Britain in the sport at a Paralympics.

"I've done really well to get to where I am, but I'm not there yet," Pimblett told BBC Sport.

"I've always wanted to go to a Paralympics but not just to make up the numbers. I want to bring back a medal - that is my goal.

"Milan is there in the back of my thoughts, but I don't want to become complacent. I feel like I am in a good place mentally and physically with two years to go and I hope I am doing the right things - but all of us on the Great Britain squad are working hard.

"I will do everything I can and hopefully make it hard for the selectors to leave me out of that Paralympic squad. If I don't get there, it won't be for the want of trying."

Before taking up wheelchair curling, Pimblett, who was paralysed in a road accident when he was nine, played wheelchair basketball, representing Great Britain, although he never made it to a Paralympics.

After watching coverage of wheelchair curling from the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver and seeing some of his former wheelchair basketball team-mates taking part, he gave the sport a try. He fell in love with it, going on to launch the Northern Ice club in Northumberland, where he lives, and setting up the first England team, raising money to attend the first World B Championship in 2015.

But raising the profile of the sport has not been easy, with Pimblett and his club-mates needing to travel at least two hours in order to train on a suitable ice sheet. Pimblett also makes regular journeys to train with the rest of the British squad at the National Curling Academy in Stirling.

"Traditionally, wheelchair curling has been a Scottish sport and it has been challenging to develop it in England," he said.

"But we are an ageing sport and we have to look further afield to try to get more players from all over the country involved.

"I'm very proud to be involved in that and hopefully driving the sport forward.

"If I'm honest, I wish I had stopped playing wheelchair basketball and taken up wheelchair curling 10 years earlier.

Pimblett took part in the baton relay before the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham

"It's a very hard sport and is mentally challenging, but it is brilliant. I loved wheelchair basketball more than anything but now wheelchair curling has taken that place."

The sport made its Paralympic debut in 2006, where Britain won silver, before earning bronze in Sochi in 2014. For Milan-Cortina, the programme will also feature a mixed doubles event alongside the team competition.

In South Korea, Pimblett will partner newcomer Karen Aspey, who made her international debut in the team event at last year's World B Championships. Scotland, who accrue Paralympic qualification points on behalf of Great Britain at major championships, will be represented by Charlotte McKenna and Gary Smith.

Pimblett narrowly missed out on the semi-finals last year, when he played alongside Commonwealth Games bowling gold medallist Rosemary Lenton, but is excited about the new pairing with Aspey as they gear up for round-robin games against Canada, Finland, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United States.

"I don't know how we will do but with a bit of luck, who knows?" he says.

"We would like to get to the play-offs. After that, anything is possible. I want to go there and enjoy it and not push pressure on ourselves."