South Korea's mixed doubles curling team finally claimed their first victory at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The duo of Kim Sun-young (Gangneung City Hall) and Jung Young-seok (Gangwon Provincial Office) defeated the American pair of Korey Tischhauser and Corey Dropkin 6-5 in extra ends at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on January 8 (Korea time). The win came in their sixth match of the round-robin stage, ending a winless streak that had seen them fall to Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic.
The victory was particularly significant as the United States entered the match in second place with a 4-1 record and are the 2023 World Championship winners.
South Korea took early control with consecutive scores in the first and second ends, building a 4-2 lead through the middle of the match. In the seventh end, they stole a point during the Americans' power play to extend their advantage to 5-2. However, the U.S. scored three points in the eighth end to force extra ends. Jung's crucial shot in the extra end shifted momentum back to South Korea, and Kim sealed the dramatic victory by placing the final stone in the house.
In a post-match broadcast interview, Kim said with reddened eyes: "I'm disappointed that our first win came so late, but I thought it was more important to show our own style of play. I'm most satisfied that we played our way and showed good content."
Jung said: "I'm happy to win, but I'm sorry that the victory came so late. Today's match was exactly the style and content we pursued. It's meaningful that we got a good result against a team capable of making the playoffs."
Despite the win, South Korea remains in last place with a 1-5 record. With only the top four of ten countries advancing to the semifinals, their path forward appears difficult. Nevertheless, both players vowed to continue playing their style through the remaining matches.
"I believe we are growing with each game. I want to show our curling without being intimidated in the remaining matches," Kim said.
Jung added: "Regardless of the results, we will show performance that we can be proud of ourselves."