SURSEE – Rune Lorentsen has a curling secret.

The Norwegian skip led his team to its second consecutive World Wheelchair Curling Championship with a 5-3 win over Korea's Hak Sung Kim in the final, and admitted his team approaches the Paralympic discipline with a different mindset.

"I think so," Lorentsen smiled. "Don't you think so?"

Lorentsen went 6-3 during the week, and handed Korea (7-2) one of  their two round robin losses. After beating the United States in the  Page 3 vs 4 game, Norway moved on with a semifinal win over Canada.

In today's final, Kim was missing some of the magic he had delivered through the tournament. Norway stole the opening deuce when Kim was heavy on a draw, and Lorentsen had an open takeout for the win in the sixth end, but flashed.

In the extra end, Kim drew light against two Norwegian counters, and Lorentsen didn't need to throw his final stone.

"We always have a 'Plan B' in our strategy," explained Norwegian coach Thorald Hognestad. "And they executed the plan one hundred per cent.

"We cannot play equal with able-bodied curlers, there are always misses. We call every shot so if we miss, there is a good alternative result.

"During the week you see our shooting percentages were low. But we won the worlds last year, and now we win again. We play wheelchair curling for wheelchair curlers, not for able-bodied strategy."

Norway, with back-to-back world titles, has virtually guaranteed a berth into the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Canada is also guaranteed a spot as host nation. Qualification hopes have also risen for Korea and the United States, which earned bronze with a victory over fourth-place Canada.

Next year's World Wheelchair Championship will be hosted by Vancouver's Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park, the official Olympic and Paralympic curling venue now under construction.

This was the third world championship hosted by Sursee. The neighboring district of Nottwil hosts the world-famous Swiss Paraplegic Foundation and Research Institution, where the athletes and coaches were housed.

Japan and Russia, by virtue of their scores in the Draw Shot Challenge, must qualify for the 2009 Worlds by advancing from the next World Wheelchair Qualifying Competition. 

FINAL STANDINGS

Norway (Rune Lorentsen)         9-3

Korea (Hak Sung Kim)               8-3

United States (Augusto Perez)   7-5

Canada (Gerry Austgarden)       6-6

Italy (Andrea Tabanelli)            5-5

Sweden (Jalle Jungnell)           4-5

Scotland (Michael McCreadie)    3-6

Switzerland (Manfred Bollinger) 3-6

Japan (Yoji Nakajima)               3-6

Russia (Andrey Smirnov)            3-6