Cory Thiesse: From Minnesota Lab Tech to First American Woman Olympic Curling Medalist

Olympian Cory Thiesse splits her time between a lab in Duluth, Minnesota, and the ice sheets of curling rinks around the world. At North Shore Analytical, she works as a lab technician analyzing water samples for mercury content, work that demands precision and focus, much like the sport that occupies her evenings and weekends. At 31, Cory has built a life around two commitments that rarely overlap for most people: a steady career in environmental testing and elite-level curling.

At the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, that balance paid off. In February 2026, Cory teamed up with Korey Dropkin in mixed doubles curling and secured silver, marking the first U.S. medal in mixed doubles curling since the event joined the program in 2018. The gold-medal match against Sweden's Isabella and Rasmus Wranå unfolded as a tense exchange, with the lead shifting three times before ending 6-5 in Sweden's favor. Earlier, their semifinal victory over the host nation Italy ensured the historic podium finish. For Cory, it carried extra weight: she became the first American woman to win any Olympic curling medal.

Cory, born December 1, 1994, grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, where curling runs deep in the community. Her mother, Linda Christensen, competed for Team USA and later founded the lab where Cory now works. Cory started young at the Duluth Curling Club, part of a junior program that produced several top players, drawn to the strategy and quiet intensity of sliding stones across ice. A key moment came when John Shuster visited the cub with his bronze medal from Turin 2006, the first U.S. curling medal in decades. Seeing the medal up close made the sport feel attainable.

She honed her skills through junior nationals, winning multiple titles while studying exercise science at the University of Minnesota Duluth. After graduating, she took a position as a lab technician, eventually at a mercury-testing facility. The role provides stability, and the workplace has accommodated her training and competition schedule, including time off for Olympic qualification and the Games without derailing her career. Korey Dropkin, her mixed doubles partner and fellow Duluth-area native, balances his own full-time work as a realtor. Cory emphasizes that curling remains an amateur pursuit, fuelled only by their love for the game.

That love has sustained them through years of competition. In 2018, Cory reached the Olympics for the first time as an alternate on the women's team in PyeongChang, gaining experience without reaching the medal rounds. She returned stronger in 2026 after forming a mixed doubles partnership with Korey, later qualifying for mixed doubles after winning the U.S. trials in 2025. Their partnership blends his aggressive style with her calm, accurate play, helping them advance through the demanding tournament.

Post-final, Cory described the week as transformative and "a dream," acknowledging the Swedish team's strong performance while expressing pride in their own effort. The silver carried added meaning as a milestone for American women's curling, which had waited longer than the men's side for an Olympic medal. Cory became the first U.S. woman to achieve it in any format, an accomplishment she views as part of a larger progression in the sport.

Off the ice, Cory plans to bring her silver medal back to Duluth and share it at the local club in a full-circle moment. She wants young curlers, particularly girls, to see that high-level success is within reach even when balancing a regular job and training demands, something she proves by example in maintaining erh laboratory routine, training when schedules allow, competing at the highest level, and returning to analyze the next batch of water samples. Cory's silver medal is proof that ambition and everyday responsibility can coexist, and it continues to fuel her drive on the ice.