The previously undefeated U.S. mixed doubles curling team suffered back-to-back defeats on Saturday at the Milan Cortina Olympics, falling 6-4 to Great Britain and 6-5 to South Korea in an extra end. Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin, now 4-2, remain tied for second place in the round-robin standings. Great Britain improved to 7-0 and secured a semifinal spot.
At the Cortina Olympic Curling Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the U.S. pair of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin entered Saturday's matches with a perfect 4-0 record in the mixed doubles curling round-robin. Their unbeaten streak ended in the morning session against Great Britain's Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, who were also undefeated at 5-0 after a 7-5 win over Canada earlier that day.
The match against Great Britain started poorly for the Americans, who trailed 2-0 after the first end and 4-1 at the halfway mark. Thiesse and Dropkin mounted a comeback in the fifth end, scoring three points to tie the game at 4-4. As highlighted in a post from NBC Olympics, "THAT IS BRILLIANT FROM CORY THIESSE. 😮💨 She earns Team USA three points to tie it up in a big matchup against Great Britain."
However, Dodds and Mouat, three-time world mixed doubles champions, responded with single points in the sixth and seventh ends to secure a 6-4 victory. This win propelled Great Britain to 7-0, clinching their place in Monday's semifinals. Dodds reflected afterward, "It’s always a nice feeling to know you’re qualified, but we want to still continue to play well. And today, those two games were definitely our A performances out there and we’ll need to continue that."
The U.S. team's afternoon matchup against South Korea's Kim Seonyeong and Jeong Yeongseok proved even tighter. South Korea, who had lost their previous five matches—including a 9-4 defeat to Czechia earlier Saturday—jumped to a 2-0 lead after two ends and held a 5-2 advantage entering the eighth. Thiesse and Dropkin rallied for three points to force an extra end, but struggled with accuracy and lost 6-5.
Now at 4-2 and tied for second with Italy, the U.S. duo will face Estonia and Sweden on Sunday in sessions 11 and 12. Both the United States and Great Britain are chasing their first mixed doubles medal since the event debuted at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. The round-robin features nine games per team, with the top four advancing to semifinals on Monday and medal matches on Tuesday.
