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02/10 13:28 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) --- At one end of the ice was the brother,
pumping his fists. At the other was the sister, jumping up and down with her
broom in her hand and a look of disbelief on her bespectacled face.
Isabella and Rasmus Wran, Sweden's first-ever team of siblings at the Winter
Olympics, won gold in mixed doubles curling on Tuesday night, beating U.S. pair
Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin.
The Wrans persevered through a nailbiter of a championship game in front of a
spirited, pro-U.S. crowd and pounced on an opening left by the Americans in the
last end. Isabella threw the winning stone and hunched close to the ice,
watching her brother sweep until their red stone knocked out the Americans'
yellow rock for a 6-5 victory.
For the Americans, just making this far was historic. They became the first
U.S. team to medal in Olympic mixed doubles, and 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.
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. Thiesse and Dropkin 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 managed to turn it around and won 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.
Thiesse and Dropkin 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. ___ AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics |
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