Cortina d’Ampezzo: In a moment destined for Olympic folklore, Swedish siblings Rasmus Wranå and Isabella Wranå clinched their country’s first-ever gold medal in mixed doubles curling, edging past Team USA 6-5 in a dramatic final at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday night.
The championship clash went down to the wire. Trailing 5-4 heading into the eighth and final end, the Swedish duo held their nerve under intense pressure from a vocal, pro-American crowd. With the gold medal hanging in the balance, Isabella delivered a decisive final stone — a perfectly executed takeout that sealed two crucial points and the historic victory.
As Sweden’s red stone knocked out the American yellow rock, Rasmus pumped his fists at one end of the ice while Isabella leapt in disbelief, broom in hand. The siblings embraced as the arena erupted.
“It’s a perfect shot for me to have, a takeout,” Isabella said after the match. “Of course you’re nervous. It’s the last shot and you know if you make it, it’s Olympic gold. But we stayed calm. We talked it through, and I knew I had a really strong sweeper.”
The Wranås, Sweden’s first team of siblings to compete together at the Winter Olympics, showcased remarkable composure throughout a tense final against Americans Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin. The U.S. pair had left a narrow opening in the last end — and the Swedish duo capitalized with clinical precision.
Coached in their early years by their father, Mats Wranå, the siblings grew up as fierce competitors before evolving into a formidable team. Their current coach, Alison Kreviazuk, credited their improved communication as key to their success.
“They’ve got different personalities, but they’ve figured out how to complement each other,” Kreviazuk said. “Over the past couple of years, they’ve really nailed how to talk and strategize together — and it showed.”
The gold marks a remarkable turnaround for the Swedish pair, who stumbled at the start of the Games with three straight round-robin losses — a run that prompted Swedish media to label their campaign a “Curlingfiasko.” Undeterred, they regrouped and surged through the remainder of the competition, building momentum at the perfect time.
For Team USA, the defeat was heartbreaking but historic. Thiesse and Dropkin became the first American team to win an Olympic medal in mixed doubles curling, with Thiesse also becoming the first American woman to medal in Olympic curling.
“This is a really big day for USA Curling and for women’s curling in the U.S.,” Thiesse said. “I hope this inspires the next generation to stand on that podium someday.”
The American duo, based in Duluth, Minnesota, balance full-time careers alongside their curling ambitions — Thiesse as a lab technician and Dropkin as a real estate agent. Former college classmates, they teamed up after missing qualification for the Beijing 2022 Games and went on to win a world title a year later.
Earlier in the day, Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner secured the bronze medal with a 5-3 win over Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat. The Italians, defending Olympic champions, delighted home fans, while the British pair — who topped the round-robin standings — left the ice visibly dejected after missing out on the final.
But the night belonged to the Wranå siblings — a brother-sister partnership that turned early adversity into Olympic glory, carving their names into Sweden’s sporting history with ice-cool precision.
Source: ESPN, Milano Cortina 2026
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