02/10/26 01:14:00
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02/10 13:12 CST Swedish siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wran win gold in mixed
doubles curling, beating US pair
Swedish siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wran win gold in mixed doubles curling,
beating US pair
By JULIA FRANKEL and STEVE DOUGLAS
Associated Press
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) --- Sweden's brother-and-sister team of Isabella
and Rasmus Wran won gold in mixed doubles curling at the Milan Cortina
Olympics, beating the United States in the final on Tuesday night.
The Wrans won 6-5 over Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin, who became the first
Americans to medal in Olympic mixed doubles. Thiesse is the first American
woman to medal in Olympic curling.
The Wran siblings grew up as rivals and were coached by their father, Mats
Wran. They're Sweden's first sibling team at the Olympics.
The championship game was agonizingly close, with the Swedes pouncing on an
opening left by the Americans in the last end.
Throughout the match, the Wrans enjoyed a somewhat silent camaraderie with
their small contingent of fans. The two remained stoic while Dropkin played to
the crowd, whipping up the loud American supporters.
The Wrans won the world title in 2024. Dropkin and Thiesse won at worlds a
year earlier.
The Swedish duo started their Olympic bid on stumbly legs, losing three games
in a row in the round robin. The skid prompted the Swedish media to label their
Olympic bid a "Curlingfiasko."
But they soon managed to turn it around, winning most of their remaining
matches.
It was a heartbreaker for the Americans, who enjoyed roaring support. An
American curler screamed from the rafters, "Show me your biceps!" Dropkin
obliged.
Dropkin and Thiesse are based in Duluth, Minnesota, and have full-time jobs.
Thiesse is a lab technician and Dropkin a real estate agent. Dropkin is engaged
and Thiesse is married.
They were classmates in college. Dropkin asked Thiesse to be his mixed doubles
partner after a failed qualification run for the Beijing 2022 Games. She agreed
and they were world champions a year later.
Italy wins bronze
Italy's Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner won bronze, defeating Britain 5-3.
It was a bittersweet result for the Italians, the defending Olympic champions
whose fans packed the stands throughout the round-robin in hopes to see a
repeat. And it was devastating for the Brits, Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat,
who were expected to make the final after exiting the round-robin with the most
wins of any pair.
They faltered against exacting throws from Mosaner and Constantini, who hails
from Cortina and has become a darling of this stadium. The British duo walked
off the ice dejected.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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