The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was occupied with final preparations for a smooth transition from the Winter Olympics to the Paralympic Games in Milano Cortina. However, as officials celebrated successfully navigating the controversies that plagued the curling competition last month, they now face a new challenge.

CBC Olympics and Paralympics reporter Devin Heroux shared an update on X, stating, “Two curling stones have been stolen from the Cortina curling venue ahead of Paralympic competition. Authorities are investigating. Competition will not be affected.”

The theft, which occurred on Tuesday evening at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, has left IOC officials scratching their heads over how someone managed to make off with two 42-pound granite rocks. And World Curling, associated with the IOC, was forced to confirm the bizarre turn of events just hours before the wheelchair mixed doubles competition was set to begin.

Christopher Hamilton, the organization’s head of communications and marketing, acknowledged the situation, stating, “Unfortunately, there has been a situation where two stones were stolen from the venue. The local authorities are currently investigating.”

The stolen stones are valued at nearly $960 each. And they were a part of the yellow set used on Sheet A. For the athletes themselves, the news barely registered as a distraction.

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Team USA’s national director of the wheelchair program, Pete Annis, opened up about the situation, stating, “Obviously, they have really good stones, and they’re just going to replace them. Even if we wouldn’t have told the players, they wouldn’t have known. It’s not an issue to us.”

American curler Steve Emt echoed this sentiment, noting he had heard rumblings about the theft but that it hadn’t affected his or teammate Laura Dwyer’s preparation.

However, the IOC just can’t catch a break during the current Olympic & Paralympic cycle.

The IOC found itself in a vortex of controversy

The drama erupted on February 13 when Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian veteran Marc Kennedy of “double-touching,” as he allegedly made contact with the granite stone after release.

And the Canadian curler’s response? “You can f*** off,” he said, in the heat of the moment.

World Curling, associated with the IOC, responded within 24 hours, clarifying the situation, stating, “During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is not allowed. This will result in the stone being removed from play.”

Kennedy was not happy with the claims, as he told reporters: “I’ve curled my whole life, never once with the intention of getting an advantage through cheating. So when (my integrity) gets attacked, I get my back up and get a little bit aggressive.”

The governing body immediately deployed two additional umpires to actively monitor all sheets for violations. However, the new rule was pretty short-lived.

Opening up about the controversy, the CEO of Curling Canada, Nolan Thiessen, whose team had been in the spotlight, said, “I think there’s a lot of pride in trying to be a sport that kind of officiates ourselves a little bit, so to speak. I think it was just everybody taking a deep breath and going, okay, let’s just finish this Olympics the way we know our sport is to be played.”

So, coming back to the current Paralympics situation, the IOC’s investigation continues, but the competitions seem unaffected.