HISTORIC SHOWING FOR AMERICAN CURLING TEAMS IN CORTINA
Photo by: World Curling
[EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, February 21, 2026] — Millions of Americans fall in love with curling during the 2026 Olympic Games, and USA Curling teams also delivered historic performances on the ice.
Mixed Doubles kicked off curling in Cortina, and Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin won the country’s first medal in this discipline, earning a silver after a thrilling final game against Sweden. What’s more, Thiesse became the first American woman to ever win an Olympic medal in curling. Together, Thiesse and Dropkin inspired a new generation of athletes, represent all that is good about our sportand are amazing ambassadors for curling.
For Team Peterson (Tabitha Peterson, Cory Thiesse, Tara Peterson, Taylor Anderson-Heidi, Aileen Geving) the road to the Games started by winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling in November in Sioux Falls, SD. After that, they played Norway in a must-win game for the final Games berth at the Olympic Qualification Event in Canada in December. Finally, to qualify for the medal round in Cortina, they edged Switzerland in an extra end in their final round-robin game, with Peterson and her teammates executing a draw to the four-foot on the last shot of the game.
Heading into the medal round in the #2 position, they faced Switzerland again in the semi-finals. In a tightly contested game, the Americans fell just short, unable to generate a steal in the final end to tie the score.
That sent the team to the bronze medal matchup against traditional powerhouse Canada. In another back-and-forth game filled with great shotmaking, Peterson and her teammates trailed by one heading to the last end, but couldn’t come up with a steal to send the game to an extra end and found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard. It was a tough finish to an impressive week for this group of American women.
The Men’s representatives, Team Casper (Danny Casper, Luc Violette, Ben Richardson, Aidan Oldenburg, Rich Ruohonen), fell just short of the medal round, finishing in fifth place in the round-robin format qualification round. The second-youngest foursome at these Games—in a twist, Alternate Ruohonen was also the oldest member of the entire Team USA delegation—the team showed remarkable resilience and demonstrated maturity beyond their years. Like Team Peterson, they have been through a grueling stretch of must-win games over the last few months—the Trials in November, the Olympic Qualification Event in December, and finally, here at the Games against the ultimate international field.
“I could not be prouder of all our players,” said USA Curling CEO Dean Gemmell. “It is so difficult just to make Team USA in our sport, as only the winning team at our Trials advances. Games at this level are decided by the thinnest of margins, and the pressure on every single shot is extraordinary. Add in the intense media scrutiny that happens during an Olympics, and this is a group that demonstrated real grit and grace under pressure.”
Not only did the men’s and women’s teams persevere through the Trials, the Olympic Qualification Event, and these Games, they all came together to support each other at training camps and in Cortina. After earning the silver in Mixed Doubles, Korey Dropkin went directly into supporter mode, leading cheers in the arena for the Men’s and Women’s teams.
Photo by: World Curling
Gemmell added, “The collective effort was so impressive. Across the three disciplines—Mixed Doubles, Men’s, Women’s—this was our best overall performance at a Games, and our cumulative results in round-robin play were better than all other countries. I know missing the podium stings for our Men’s and Women’s teams, but there is much to celebrate and build upon.”
“We are grateful to major sponsors Columbia Sportswear and the Dale’s family of beers. Their support has been invaluable over this four-year run to the Games. We realize there is no shortage of sponsorship opportunities for major brands, but I hope these last few weeks have opened people’s eyes to the value an association with our sport provides. The support of our Member Clubs and Individual Members is also critical. From resources to volunteer efforts, they allow us to develop more programs and offer national championships for curlers of every level.”
With the Olympics over, USA Curling is excited to move directly to the Men’s & Women’s National Championships that start on February 23rd in Charlotte, NC. The winners at this event will become Team USA just a few weeks later at either the LGT World Men’s in Ogden, UT, or the BKT World Women’s in Calgary, Canada. For Americans who became fans of the game, the championships taking place in North Carolina and Utah offer an opportunity to see elite-level curling live.
Gemmell summed up, “Our Olympians started in the game at one of our Member Clubs—you’ll find them all over the country. I realize our sport looks unusual at first, but get out and try it. Our clubs are also vital spaces that bring all kinds of people together, and they strengthen the communities they serve.”
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.
