THIESSE/DROPKIN KICK OFF 2026 WINTER GAMES FOR TEAM USA
Photo by: World Curling
[EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, February 5, 2026] — The Mixed Doubles team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin will be the first Americans in the field of play at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, as the team starts its quest for the podium with a game at 10:05 AM on Thursday against the accomplished team of Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedgretton from Norway. Skaslien and Nedregotten won bronze in 2018 and silver in 2022.
Thiesse and Dropkin have their own record of success on the international stage, capturing the World Mixed Doubles Championship in 2023. They cruised through the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Mixed Doubles Curling at Rock Creek Curling in Lafayette, CO, in February of 2025, and secured their berth in the Games at the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Championship. In Cortina, they’ll be supported on the bench by Team Coach Cathy Overton-Clapham and National Team Coach Phill Drobnick. Overton and Drobnick were part of the team’s successful run at the World Championship in 2023.
It’s a full schedule for curling at the Games, with Mixed Doubles play kicking off two days before the Opening Ceremony. It will be followed by Men’s and Women’s play, with the final medal games on February 22nd. A full schedule of curling coverage in the United States can be found here.
USA Curling CEO Dean Gemmell noted, “The level of play at the Olympic Games is extraordinary, as so many countries have developed great players. But we have great confidence in Cory and Korey, and they arrived in Italy after an excellent training camp in Switzerland. No matter what, they will be great ambassadors on and off the ice.”
Thiesse and Dropkin both play out of the Duluth Curling Club in Minnesota, with Dropkin learning the game at the Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland, MA.
Mixed Doubles, Women’s, and Men’s play will all take place in Cortina d'Ampezzo at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. The venue, originally built for the 1956 Winter Olympics, has been extensively renovated for play in 2026.
Since curling returned as a medal sport at the 1998 Games in Nagano, the United States has captured two medals—a men’s bronze in 2006 and a men’s gold in 2018. Pete Fenson skipped the team in 2006, while five-time Olympian John Shuster was at the helm in 2018.
About USA Curling
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA Curling is the National Governing body for the Olympic sport of curling and the Paralympic sport of wheelchair curling in the United States. The mission of USA Curling is to grow, strengthen, and advocate for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of curling in the United States by prioritizing accessibility and programmatic development from grassroots to podium. USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, the Dale’s family of beers, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Ice, Sports & Solar (ISS), Rock Solid Productions, Jet Ice, and Laurie Artiss. USA Curling is a proud member of World Curling and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. To learn more, visit usacurling.org.
