U.S. Wins Historic Silver Medal in Mixed Doubles Curling at 2026 Winter Olympics

Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse made history for the United States on Tuesday.

The pair won a silver medal in mixed doubles curling, marking the first time Team USA has ever medaled in the event. The U.S. finished behind Sweden and ahead of Italy.

Thiesse and Dropkin downed Sweden 8-7 in the round-robin stage to punch a ticket to the semifinals, where they beat Italy 9-8 on Monday to advance to the final. Team USA managed to put together a valiant effort against the Swedes, winning the first and third ends 1-0, but dropping the second set 2-0 to give Sweden a 3-2 advantage heading into the fifth set.

After a bit more back and forth, Thiesse and Dropkin needed perfection on their last stone, but couldn't put it in position to win gold.

Thiesse and Dropkin have had plenty of individual success in the sport of curling, with each winning on just about every other stage besides the Olympics. The two decided to team up in 2022, and that proved to be a wise choice since they've now done something no other American duo had done before.

For Thiesse, she hopes succeeding on the biggest stage will inspire a new generation of curlers.

"I know how important it was for me to have people to look up to when I was growing up," Thiesse said, per Time's Sean Gregory. "So I just hope that I can be kind of an inspiration for young girls in curling, or in any sport in the U.S., to just dream big."