South Korea Curling Mixed Doubles Secures First Win After Five Straight Losses

South Korea's mixed doubles curling pair Kim Sun-young (Gangneung City Hall) and Jeong Young-seok (Gangwon Provincial Office) finally claimed their first victory at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The win came in their sixth round-robin match.

Kim and Jeong defeated Americans Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin 6-5 in extra ends at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on February 7 local time. After being tied 5-5 through eight ends, the Korean pair scored one point in the extra end to secure the victory.

Having lost all five previous round-robin matches, Kim and Jeong beamed with joy after finally breaking through in their sixth game.

Following a 4-9 loss to the Czech pair earlier, the Korean duo took an early lead against the Americans by scoring one point each in the first and second ends, then maintained a slim advantage throughout.

In the seventh end, during the Americans' power play—a once-per-game option allowing the team with last stone advantage to reposition pre-placed stones for higher scoring opportunities—the Koreans stole one point to extend their lead to 5-2, putting them on course for a comfortable win.

However, the American pair—2023 Mixed Doubles World Championship winners in Gangneung who entered this match with a 4-1 record ranking among the top 10 teams—mounted a comeback in the later ends.

They scored three points in the eighth end to force extra time.

Despite allowing the late rally, Kim and Jeong found another gear in the decisive extra end. With last stone advantage, Jeong's fourth throw pushed away the opponent's stones clustered in the center, securing favorable position. Kim's final throw settled near the button, clinching their first victory.

Despite the hard-fought win, advancing to the medal-determining semifinals remains virtually impossible.

Mixed doubles curling features 10 teams competing in round-robin preliminaries, with the top four advancing to semifinals to determine final standings.

Great Britain has clinched a semifinal berth with seven consecutive wins, and three other teams have already secured four victories. South Korea's 1-5 record leaves them tied for last place with the Czech Republic.