U.S. guaranteed 1st Olympic curling mixed doubles medal

Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse guaranteed the United States its archetypal Olympic medal successful mixed doubles curling, reaching the last Monday with a 9-8 triumph implicit Italy astatine the Milano Cortina Games.

Dropkin, of Massachusetts, and Thiesse, of Minnesota, whooped and hollered aft edging the hosts, hugging tightly. Thiesse made her archetypal Winter Olympics quality astatine the 2018 PyeongChang Games, placing 8th with the women's curling team; it is Dropkin's archetypal Olympics Games.

The duo gave the U.S. its first satellite rubric successful mixed doubles curling successful 2023, a twelvemonth aft they teamed up. 

Curling runs successful some of their families, and Dropkin says it's "like religion" to him.

"I grew up astatine the curling club," the 30-year-old told CBS News. "My parents were ace progressive with a inferior programme astatine our curling club. My member was 5 years older. He was already curling. I followed successful his footsteps. I was similar his shadow."

Thiesse is the girl of Linda Christensen, who besides competed for Team USA and is simply a two-time U.S. elder nationalist champion and one-time satellite elder champion.

When is Team USA curling mixed treble golden medal match?

Dropkin and Thiesse's mixed doubles curling golden medal lucifer against Sweden is slated for Tuesday, Feb. 10, astatine 12:05 p.m. ET.

The Americans volition play Swedish siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wrana, who upset the British duo of Jennifer Dodds and Brett Mouat 9-3 successful the different semifinal.

Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin of Team USA observe aft winning the Curling Mixed Doubles semi-finals lucifer betwixt Team Italy and Team United States connected time 3 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Feb. 9, 2026. Mattia Ozbot / Getty Images

Dodds and Mouat, champion friends who grew up curling together, entered the tract arsenic favorites and were wide expected to beryllium successful the final.

Sweden's brother-and-sister squad are curling unneurotic aft increasing up arsenic rivals. Sweden won bronze successful mixed doubles successful 2022.

How galore ends are determination successful curling?

Similar to innings successful baseball, curling is played successful "ends." At each end, 16 stones are thrown successful 1 absorption and a people is determined. In the adjacent end, the stones are thrown successful the different direction.

In a curling match, 2 teams vie to spot which tin get the astir granite stones closest to a bullseye people called the tee by sliding them on a constrictive expanse of ice.

The region betwixt wherever a subordinate indispensable merchandise the chromatic and the tee astatine the different extremity is astir 93 feet (28 meters).

Cory Thiesse competes with Korey Dropkin during the Mixed Doubles Round Robin lucifer betwixt Team USA and Team Estonia connected time 2 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games connected Feb. 8, 2026. Richard Heathcote / Getty Images

The expanse is lone 5 meters (16.4 feet) wide and some teams' stones accumulate each round, truthful it gets crowded.

Each round, for up to 10 rounds, teams person 8 chances to descent the specialized 44-pound (20 kg) stones toward the tee. They tin purpose straight for the center, effort to sound their opponents' stones distant oregon nudge their ain stones person to the target. Strategies see blocking and take-outs.

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