Thiesse, Dropkin share why they're all-in on mixed doubles this season

When Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin were asked how life had changed since they won the Olympic silver medal in February’s Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Thiesse insisted that nothing has changed too much.

Sure, she now gets recognized in public. And yes, the Olympic silver medallists threw out the first pitch at Target Field for a Minnesota Twins game. They were honoured by the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ve visited nearly every elementary school in their hometown of Duluth, Minnesota. And of course, rapper Flavor Flav flew Thiesse and other U.S. women’s Olympians out to Las Vegas over the summer.

Other than that, though, life has been quite ho-hum.

The pair's success ascended them to national recognition, thanks in part to the juxtaposed icy focus of Thiesse and Dropkin’s competitive fire.

"It definitely hasn’t sunk in yet for me," Thiesse shared in a recent phone interview. "I still look at the medal sometimes, and I’m like, ‘Wow, we really did that.'"

The even-keeled Thiesse still gets chills when she sees replays of her final shot to put the team through to the gold medal game. Dropkin does the same while also reminiscing about the unrivalled energy in the building during their back-to-back games against Italy, an environment he hopes to see replicated on a more regular basis in the future.

While the teammates have enjoyed the perks and joys of their Olympic success, they do not deny it came at a cost.

"The last four years have been exhausting," said Thiesse.

Over the last four seasons, Thiesse and Dropkin averaged 35 mixed doubles games per year. They had to balance mixed doubles, jam-packed men's and women's calendars, jobs and their personal lives. Even after the Olympics concluded, the teammates had to wait before hanging up their curling shoes as both headed to Toronto for the inaugural season of Rock League.

Between the physical, mental, and emotional stressors of the past four years, it’s safe to say they enjoyed a much-needed and well-deserved few months away from the sport.

With the decision for both of the pair to take a break from four-person curling for the season ahead, they’ve been able to enjoy a longer break from competition. Most of their fellow national teammates will have played in multiple events before Thiesse and Dropkin begin their season with the World Mixed Doubles Qualification Event in Lafayette, Colorado, on Friday.

Dropkin, who got married over the off-season, has enjoyed the extra few weeks off.

"We see that everybody else is curling already, and we’re still in our off-season," he said. "You probably get a hint of FOMO, but then you kind of check back into reality, and it’s just like, 'Actually, no, I’m good. This is really nice.'"

A shift in focus

In shifting their focus to mixed doubles for the season ahead, Thiesse and Dropkin acknowledged this was a way to allow them to ensure they’re prioritizing their personal lives while simultaneously taking steps forward and striving for improvement in the two-person discipline.

Dropkin learned over the past quadrennial the significant time and energy cost trying to pursue men's and mixed doubles curling success.

"It’s hard to be great at both and chase that mountain of success and execute at both disciplines," he said.

The former skip also came to an important realization about himself through the delicate balance he underwent over the past four years. He noticed a distinct difference in how he personally felt while skipping a men's team versus playing in mixed doubles with Thiesse. Dropkin realized he just has more fun playing mixed doubles.

Add in that realization along with the five-week commitment of Rock League's second season, spending more time with his newlywed spouse, and the success Dropkin wants to chase with Thiesse, and the decision becomes quite straightforward.

"I think the biggest thing that I’ve realized is I have to make sure I prioritize my time," he said. "I only have so much of it, so really try to nail down what gives me the most joy and stick with those things."

Thiesse echoed Dropkin’s sentiments with observations from her time playing with her women’s team over the past four years while Tara and Tabitha Peterson started families. She watched the sisters become mothers and gain a new perspective on curling.

"Balance in life is so important, and I think that’s factored into both Korey and (my) decisions to just focus on mixed doubles this year."

Adjust to life as specialists

With their focus shifting for the season ahead, Thiesse and Dropkin are looking forward to aligning their play even more.

Both players had worked hard to ensure they had been throwing the rock similarly to their respective four-person teams. Without needing to match the deliveries of a men’s or women’s team, the duo have been working on throwing their rocks more similarly with the help of USA Curling high performance director Brad Gushue.

“We had this technical session with Brad that was probably the most productive technical session I’ve ever had in my career,” said Dropkin.

In a game of millimetres, these small adjustments made at a summer training camp should help their rocks to run on similar trajectories, making it easier for Dropkin and Thiesse to more accurately judge the weight and line of their shots.

Gushue’s technical expertise could be a deadly addition to the Thiesse and Dropkin’s support group, made up of coach Cathy Overton-Clapham and USA Curling coaching and competitions head Phill Drobnick. The group was already a formidable force and tight knit.

Nothing, though, is ever guaranteed, especially in the volatile discipline of mixed doubles. While Thiesse and Dropkin will be the odds-on favourites to be representing the United States at world events for the next few years, they’ll face challenges along the way from the growing number of U.S. mixed doubles teams.

Motivation should be plentiful for the Duluthians to keep them hungry. They got a taste of success, and they came so close to golden glory in the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. While Dropkin notes he thinks far more about the great memories from the Olympics, he admitted he does occasionally think about what could have been in that decisive eighth end against Sweden.

It’s with the successes earned and the lessons learned that Thiesse and Dropkin will take the next steps forward together as mixed doubles teammates. Their journey to Cortina was an unmitigated success, but that chapter has come to a close.

Their hopeful journey to Lyon, France, is about to begin.

Ben Hoppe covers the American curling scene on his website, Stones & Stripes.