Duluth Celebrates Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin After Olympic Silver

Hundreds packed the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center as the community turned out to celebrate Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin, the Duluth curlers who returned from Milan‑Cortina 2026 with Olympic silver medals and a new civic proclamation from Mayor Roger Reinert naming Friday, Feb. 27 “Korey and Cory Day,” FOX 21 reported.

The welcome‑home party at the DECC opened with a grand entrance and bagpipes, then moved into photo‑ops, hugs and reunions with friends, family and supporters, FOX 21 wrote. Linda Christensen, Thiesse’s mother, told the crowd, “Just so proud of the two of them, and they’re just good ambassadors of the game. They train hard, they work hard. They do strength training and mental training. And it’s not just throwing the rocks anymore. It’s, it’s, it’s a full circle.”

Earlier in their return, Northern News Now reported that “at 7:04 p.m. Monday night, Duluth’s Olympic curlers arrived home carrying more than luggage, they brought back silver medals,” and were “welcomed home by dozens of friends and family members.” Among those greeting them was Jameson Nickila, who takes curling lessons from Korey Dropkin and appeared “decked out in red, white and blue,” a small‑town moment Northern called one he’ll always remember. Cory Thiesse told Northern, “I definitely don’t think it’s sunk in quite yet… It was such an incredible month over there, and to be able to represent our country.”

On the ice in Italy, the United States fell to Sweden, 6-5, in the mixed doubles final when Sweden’s Isabella Wrana removed the United States’ only stone to score two in the final end, NBC Olympics reported. NBC quoted Thiesse after the game: “I'm still pretty speechless… When Korey and I were walking out there I said, ‘Can you imagine at the beginning of the year if we said we were going to be silver medalist at the Olympic Games this year, we'd be pretty happy with that.’” NBC also noted Dropkin posted a childhood photo about an hour before the gold medal game and quoted him, “He'd be speechless. He’d be so proud. Big eyes, probably some tears of joy, and some wildness, for sure. That kid had a lot of energy, a lot of passion, just like me now. That's the kid I do it for. It's been a dream since I was so young, and I'm just so happy to be able to share it with Cory.” An Instagram post summarized the final as a 6-5 loss to Sweden and noted the result came “on Tuesday.”

The pair’s run included a dramatic semi‑final win against Italy that Dropkin recalled as a pivotal emotional moment: “There’s certainly a big moment of the winning shot against Italy in the semi-final game where we’re outpouring with emotion and embracing each other on the ice,” Northern News Now reported. CNN framed the silver as a major victory for the sport and noted that Dropkin works as a realtor with the Superior Shores Group at RE/MAX, licensed in Wisconsin and Minnesota, while Thiesse works as a technician at a mercury lab.

Beyond the medal and celebration, local leaders and family emphasized future goals and community impact. FOX 21 reported that the duo “have their sights on the podium again at the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps,” and Linda Christensen told Northern she wants them to see “how well received they were on tv and playing curling and how exciting people are about curling because of how they did.” The DECC celebration and the arrival‑time welcome together marked a visible moment of civic pride for Duluth and a clear next target for Thiesse and Dropkin.