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U.S. pair, including Mass. native Dropkin, gets silver in mixed doubles curling
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — For the American, just making it this far was historic.
Southborough, Massachusetts native Korey Dropkin and partner Cory Thiesse faced off against Swedish siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wranå for gold in mixed doubles curling in the Winter Games on Tuesday.
Dropkin and Thiesse became the first U.S. team to medal in Olympic mixed doubles, and Thiesse is the first American woman to medal in Olympic curling.
The American duo ultimately fell to the Swedes, still picking up a silver medal.
Gold medal match
It was a heartbreaker for the Americans, who enjoyed roaring support. An American curler screamed from the rafters, “Show me your biceps!” Dropkin obliged.
Thiesse and Dropkin are based in Duluth, Minnesota, and have full-time jobs. Thiesse is a lab technician and Dropkin a real estate agent. Dropkin is engaged and Thiesse is married.
They were classmates in college. Dropkin asked Thiesse to be his mixed doubles partner after a failed qualification run for the Beijing 2022 Games. She agreed and they were world champions in 2023.
The next year, the Wranås won the world title.
On Tuesday night, the Wranås persevered through a nailbiter of a championship game in front of a spirited, pro-U.S. crowd and pounced on an opening left by the Americans in the last end. Isabella threw the winning stone and hunched close to the ice, watching her brother sweep until their red stone knocked out the Americans' yellow rock for a 6-5 victory.
Throughout the match, the Wranås enjoyed a somewhat silent camaraderie with their small contingent of fans. The two remained stoic while Dropkin played to the crowd, whipping up the loud American supporters.
Bronze for the home team
Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner won bronze, defeating Britain 5-3.
It was a bittersweet result for the Italians, the defending Olympic champions whose fans packed the stands throughout the round-robin in hopes to see a repeat. And it was devastating for the Brits, Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, who were expected to make the final after exiting the round-robin with the most wins of any pair.
They faltered against exacting throws from Mosaner and Constantini, who hails from Cortina and has become a darling of this stadium. The British duo walked off the ice dejected.
With reporting and writing by The Associated Press's Julia Frankel and Steve Douglas