Winter Olympics 2026, mixed doubles curling: Italy, United States and Sweden complete semi-final field, Canada out – daily results
Winter Olympics 2026: US curlers rally back with wins over Estonia and Sweden
After back-to-back losses against Britain and the Republic of Korea, Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse returned to the ice in bullish form, looking to rebound – and did just that.
In the afternoon, back-to-back single point steals in the seventh and eighth ends broke what had been a 3-3 tie after the sixth, to hand the U.S. curlers their first win of the day.
They then returned to the ice in a blockbuster against Sweden, which featured its fair share of twists and turns.
Brother-and-sister team Isabella Wranå and Rasmus Wranå opened with a statement of three points, only for Thiesse and Dropkin to respond with three of their own in the second to bring things immediately back to level.
In the fourth, another big scoring opportunity came for Thiesse, who delivered a sublime raise to clinch another three points and a 6-4 lead, but come the close of the seventh, the Swedes had successfully cut down the advantage after claiming two on their power play in the sixth and stealing a single for a 7-7 score.
But with the advantage of the hammer, the U.S. held firm, and when Dropkin delivered a stunning runback double to clean the house of the two Swedish stones in play, they seized control of the end before managing it for the win.
“This is where we want to be,” Dropkin told Olympics.com after.
“This was the first goal of the tournament: getting through the round robin and making playoffs. We’re happy where we are. We’re getting better every game, too, now, and we got a good feel for the ice, so [we’re] all smiles.”
Despite their evening loss to the United States, a clutch win 7-6 over Canada’s Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant ensured that Sweden booked their ticket into the semi-finals.
“It’s a weird feeling when you’ve lost a game, but you’re still so happy,” Rasmus Wranå told Olympics.com, with a smile.
“We think we played a good game, and the Americans played really well.”
“I’m very proud of how we have played these last four games,” Isabella Wranå added. “Especially against Switzerland, Italy and Canada, and also today, but I think those games put us in this position where we could qualify.”
