U.S. curling team's decades-long journey culminates at Milan-Cortina Olympics

"Korey Dropkin started curling before he started school. His parents, Keith and Shelley, were competitive international curlers and older brother Stephen competed in the world junior championship. As a child, Korey spent almost as much time at the Broomstones Curling Club in tiny Wayland, Mass., as he did at home. But if his family pointed the way to the Olympics, Korey will take the final steps on his own Thursday"

""It feels amazing. It's really hard to put into words," he said. "It is something that I've worked for my entire life. And I'm finally given that opportunity to live my dream. "I'm just so honored and grateful to now be able to be called an Olympian." That's a title he says he's been chasing since he was 6 and first became aware curling was even in the Olympics while watching the 2002 Games on TV."

Korey Dropkin began curling before starting school; his parents, Keith and Shelley, were competitive international curlers and his older brother Stephen competed in the world junior championship. He spent much of his childhood at the Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland, Mass. He and partner Cory Thiesse open the mixed doubles competition at the Cortina Curling Stadium for the Milan-Cortina Winter Games. Dropkin first noticed Olympic curling while watching the 2002 Games at age six; mixed doubles joined the Olympic program in 2018. The U.S. men's roster skews young with 24-year-old leaders while alternate Rich Ruohonen, 54, could become the oldest American Winter Olympian. The U.S. women's team brings deep Olympic experience but has never medaled in Olympic curling. John Shuster's 2018 men's team remains the only U.S. Olympic curling gold, and Shuster will not compete after his team lost the Olympic trials.

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