Winter Olympics 2026: Team USA curling advances to mixed doubles gold-medal game with upset of defending champs

Team USA curling already exceeded expectations at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics prior to Monday’s action. After finishing the round-robin session 6-3, Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin became the first American mixed doubles team to reach the medal round since the discipline became a part of the Winter Olympics in 2018.

By making it to the semifinal, Team USA was just a win away from a guaranteed medal. But getting to that match was going to be difficult. In order to play in the gold-medal game, the Americans would need to defeat Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner of Team Italy, the same duo that won the mixed doubles gold medal at the the 2022 games in Beijing.

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And if that pressure wasn’t high enough, Team USA was also looking for revenge after losing to Italy 7-6 in the final game of the round-robin session earlier Monday.

Just hours later, Team USA overcame the 2022 gold medalists. Thiesse and Dropkin engaged in a tense, back-and-forth match against Italy that came down to the final shot of the match. In the end, though, it was the Americans who prevailed, narrowly winning 9-8 and advancing to the gold-medal match Tuesday thanks to a clutch final stone from Thiesse.

The semifinal matchup started similarly to the round-robin match earlier in the day. Team Italy took advantage of the early hammer, picking up two points in the first end. While the early lead was nice, it wasn’t as impressive as the team’s first end in the round-robin session, where Italy jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Team USA.

That proved to be a big difference, as Team USA immediately got back into the semifinal match. Once again, the hammer proved to be key, as Team USA used its last stone of the end to pick up two points and tie things up 2-2.

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Team USA did a good job clogging the house in the third end, but a perfectly placed hammer resulted in Team Italy taking two more points to make it 4-2 after the third end.

After some early misses by both teams early in the fourth end, Team USA managed to recover faster than the Italians. After some uncharacteristically inaccurate shots by Team Italy, the Americans were set to take two points with one stone remaining. With a well-placed shot, Team USA could snag three points and the lead after the fourth end. Thiesse got the job done, with Dropkin sweeping the stone in the perfect spot. The Americans took three points in the end, and grabbed a narrow 5-4 lead at the halfway point.

Team Italy’s struggles continued in the fifth end. While the Americans were able to accurately place their stones, Italy’s attempts wound up off the mark, leaving Team USA with a strong chance to pick up more points despite Italy having the hammer. But Constantini hit one of her best shots of the match, stealing a point from the Americans to tie things 5-5.

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The sixth end proved to be extremely cerebral as both teams utilized strategy to gain better position in the house ahead of their final shots of the end. After clearing Italy’s stones on two shots, the Americans held the hammer with a shot to take the lead. Thiesse’s shot was on target, knocking one of Italy’s stones out of the way to net Team USA a 7-5 lead after six ends.

Down by two points, Italy elected to use its power play in the seventh end. With the team also holding the hammer, Italy was looking to close the gap ahead of the final end. The tactic worked. After some misses for Team USA, Italy was able to take three points in the end, making it 8-7 entering the eighth — and final — end.

With their backs against the wall, Thiesse and Dropkin had a few advantages in the final end. The team elected to use its power play, giving them a clearer shot at the house. In addition to that, Team USA held the hammer, giving them the final stone in the end.

But to realistically advance, they needed to win, not tie, as Italy would have had the all-important final shot in an overtime end. So it was two points or out for the Americans.

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With two stones left, Team USA called a timeout to talk strategy. Italy was in strong position at that point in the end, but only had one stone left. On Dropkin’s final shot, he cleared two of Italy’s stones, putting Team USA back in strong position to tie or win the match.

Constantini left a slight opening for the Americans to pick up two with her final stone, and Thiesse took it. Her shot was perfect, not only knocking Italy’s center stone away, but also pushing another one of Italy’s stones further out, giving Team USA two points and the 9-8 win.