CORY THIESSE BECOMES FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN TO WIN AN OLYMPIC MEDAL IN CURLING
Photo by: World Curling
[EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, February 10, 2026] — Cory Thiesse (Duluth, MN) and her teammate Korey Dropkin (Southborough, MA) will play for the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Games. No matter the outcome, Thiesse has already made history—she will be the first female curler from the United States to win an Olympic medal.
Thiesse, during the post-game press conference, reflected on the accomplishment.
“It’s been a long time coming, having a woman on the podium for USA Curling here at the Olympics. I know how important it was for me to have people to look up to when I was growing up so I just hope I can be that kind of inspiration for any young girls in curling or any sport. Dream big and work hard to achieve your goals.”
Linda Christensen, Thiesse’s mother, added, “Knowing how hard she has worked to be the best curler she can be makes earning an Olympic medal all the more special. To be the first American woman to medal in curling speaks to her level of commitment. I’m so proud of her.”
Mixed Doubles Curling was first introduced at the Games in 2018, but American women have been competing at the Olympics since 1998, when curling returned to the Games after a long hiatus. Since that time, American women have competed at every Games.
Thiesse has established herself as one of the world’s beset Mixed Doubles players. In addition to her successful run with Dropkin—they won the 2023 World title—she captured bronze with 2018 Olympic gold medalist John Shuster in the 2019 World Mixed Doubles Championship. She began playing with Dropkin, a Massachusetts native who now lives in Duluth, after the 2022 Games.
In the gold medal game, Thiesse/Dropkin will face Sweden (Isabella Wrana, Rasmus Wrana). During round-robin play, the Americans prevailed against by a score of 8-7. Thiesse also has an opportunity to come home with more than one medal from these Games—she will compete in Women’s play in Cortina at the Third position as a part of Team Peterson.
A full schedule of curling coverage in the United States can be found here. To learn more about opportunities in curling in the United States during the Games, visit the Olympic Hub on the USA Curling website.
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.
