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U.S. Pair Dropkin and Thiesse Target Podium as Mixed Doubles Begins in Cortina

The 2023 world champions credit complementary styles heading into Thursday's opener against Norway.

Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo 2026 Winter Olympic Games - U.S. Curling team Korey Dropkin poses for a photograph at the Team USA Media Summit in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., October 28, 2025. REUTERS/Adam Gray

Overview

  • Dropkin and Thiesse will be the first Team USA athletes to compete in Italy, facing Norway on Feb. 5 at 10:05 a.m. local time, a day before the opening ceremony.
  • They enter as 2023 world champions and say the goal is a podium finish, stressing the need to bring their best to every game.
  • The duo describe a complementary partnership of calm precision and fiery energy that they believe elevates performance under pressure.
  • Dropkin makes his Olympic debut, while Thiesse previously traveled to the 2018 Games as the U.S. women's alternate.
  • Beyond mixed doubles, the young men's Team Casper qualified through the Olympic Qualification Event and begins Feb. 11 with 54-year-old alternate Rich Ruohonen potentially becoming the oldest American Winter Olympian if he plays, and the women open Feb. 12 seeking the program's first Olympic medal.