The 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics kicked off Wednesday, as eight countries took the ice for mixed doubles curling. Team USA’s debut, however, would have to wait until Thursday, when it took on Norway, which won the silver medal in mixed doubles at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
Despite facing the defending silver medalists, Team USA did not back down. The match came down to the final end, where Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin managed to pull off a comeback win over Norway in their first match of the round-robin session. The USA then followed up that win with a more impressive showing against Switzerland, improving to 2-0 on the day.
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Team USA’s match against Norway was tight throughout, as neither team led by more than two points the entire way. Team USA managed to take the first lead, picking up a point in the first end. But Norway battled back immediately, scoring three points in the second end. That set the tone for the rest of the match. Team USA grabbed two points in the third end, tying things up, but then Norway increased its lead to two after a strong fourth end. Team USA picked up a point in the fifth end and then Norway picked up a point in the sixth end, giving Norway the 6-4 lead heading into the seventh end.
With their backs against the wall, Team USA rallied. The American managed to tie things up with two points. The team had a chance to take a one-point lead on its last stone of the end, but couldn’t push one of Norway’s stones far enough out of the way. That set up a 6-6 match entering the final end, where Norway had the all-important hammer, or the final stone.
The Americans executed well early in the final end, putting themselves in position to earn three points, and the win, with just two stones left for Norway. On the second-to-last stone from Norway, Magnus Nedregotten managed to weave his stone around some of the stones blocking the way, but it traveled a little too far, still setting up a win for Team USA.
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Thiesse had a chance to put the match away, but didn’t place her shot well enough, leaving an opening for Norway to steal the match with one well-placed final shot. They couldn’t get the stone to curl enough, though, giving Team USA the 8-6 victory.
It’s a significant win for Thiesse and Dropkin, who are making their first appearance at the Olympics games. That wasn’t the case on the other side, as Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien competed as a mixed doubles team at the Olympics in both 2018 and 2022. The duo won a bronze medal in 2018 and took home the silver in 2022. To kick off the 2026 Olympics, however, Nedregotten and Skaslien are sitting at 0-3 through three matches.
Thiesse and Dropkin will have a chance to build on the win Thursday, as they’ll take on Switzerland in their second round-robin match of the Olympics.
Team USA vs. Switzerland result
A few hours after their upset win over Norway, Team USA looked to re-capture that magic against Switzerland. Like their first match of the day, the Americans took an early 1-0 lead after the first end. But some incredibly well-placed shots by Switzerland in the second end resulted in the team taking a 2-1 lead.
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From there, Team USA settled into a nice groove. Thiesse used the hammer in the third end to knock Switzerland’s stone out of the way, giving the Americans two more points. Team USA was even better in the fourth end, putting two stones near the center of the house before Switzerland’s hammer. Switzerland attempted a tricky shot to try and gain the upper hand, but just missed, allowing Team USA to take a 5-2 lead into the fifth end.
Things were pretty wide open late in the fifth end after Dropkin managed to essentially clear the house on Team USA’s second-to-last stone. With the center of the house wide open, Thiesse knocked Switzerland’s stone out of the house, setting up a situation where Switzerland could only gain a point. They got the job done, cutting Team USA’s lead to 5-3 heading into the sixth end.
The sixth set played out in a similar fashion, where Dropkin once again cleared out the house late. Switzerland’s final stone of the end wound up off the mark, setting up Team USA with a wide open chance to add another two points with the hammer. Thiesse’s shot was right on target, putting the U.S. up 7-3.
Thiesse and Dropkin were forced to play defense at the end of the seventh end. With their last stone, Team USA put Switzerland in a tough spot. Switzerland was looking to gain one point before the hammer, but Team USA blocked their path to getting additional points. Switzerland cut the deficit, but still trailed 7-4 entering the final end.
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With Switzerland scrambling for points, Team USA called a key timeout in the eighth end to discuss its strategy with three stones left. After a lengthy debate, the team decided to hit try and hit Switzerland’s stones out of the house, putting pressure on the team to execute with only two stones left. Dropkin’s stone was perfectly placed, putting Team USA in an excellent spot. Team Switzerland was able to land their next stone in the house, but Dropkin knocked it out with his next shot. With Switzerland trailing by three points, and only capable of scoring two points in the end, the team went for the handshake, giving Team USA the 7-4 victory.
The win gives the Americans a perfect 2-0 record on their first day of competition. Thiesse and Dropkin will take the ice again Friday, where they will face Canada and the Czech Republic.
Other Olympics curling scores from Thursday
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Great Britain picked up an early handshake win (10-5) over Estonia after scoring four points in the seventh end. With the win, Great Britain moved to 2-0 after taking down Norway on Wednesday.
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Sweden also moved to 2-0 at the Milan Cortina games, taking down Czechia 7-4 on Thursday. Sweden is looking for another appearance on the podium after taking home the bronze medal in 2022.
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Reigning gold medalist Italy defeated Korea 8-4 after just seven ends. The win moves Italy to 1-0 at the 2026 Olympics. Korea, meanwhile, sits at 0-2, with both of their matches ending before the eighth end.
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Canada got off to a strong start Thursday, defeating Norway 6-3. The loss dropped Norway to a surprising 0-3 to kick of the 2026 games.
Winter Olympics 2026: Curling standings
After Thursday’s matches, here’s where each team sits in the standings:
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Canada 2-0
Great Britain 2-0
Sweden 2-0
United States 2-0
Italy 1-0
Switzerland 1-1
Czechia 0-2
Estonia 0-2
Korea 0-2
Norway 0-3
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