Rasmus Wrana will forever be thankful for his younger sister's performance in the mixed doubles gold-medal match.
Sweden's Rasmus and Isabella Wrana beat the U.S. 6-5 in a thriller to capture gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics. It's the first time the Swedes have won Olympic gold in mixed doubles — their previous best was a bronze medal at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing in the second Winter Games appearance for the event..
It’s Sweden's fifth overall gold medal in Olympic curling, trailing just Canada (six) for the most all time.
Despite the heartbreak of not winning the gold medal, it was a historic run for Team USA's Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin.
They earned the Americans' first-ever medal in mixed doubles and Thiesse became the first woman to collect an Olympic curling medal for the United States.
As for Dropkin, his passionate celebration with crowds all week did something larger for the sport. New eyeballs now are familiar with curling.
Curling fan and San Francisco 49ers superstar tight end George Kittle posted to his Instagram story prior to the gold-medal match, showing his support for the American duo. The U.S. also had Snoop Dogg cheering them on in their game against Canada in round-robin play.
In the bronze-medal match, Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner secured the win over Great Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat. The Italians weren’t able to defend their gold medal from 2022, but still found the podium on home soil.
Tuesday, Feb. 10 results (Full scores and standings)
Draw 15 (bronze-medal game)
Italy 5, Great Britain 3
Draw 16 (gold-medal game)
Sweden 6, U.S. 5
Isabella has the game of her life
The pressure of playing for an Olympic gold medal can get to a curler
But Isabella rose to the occasion, shooting an absurd 97 per cent.
From her opening shot in the first end, you could tell Isabella was focused and determined to come away with the gold medal.
For the first six ends, it was all about Isabella’s draw weight. She came up with clutch shots to put Sweden in a great position to force without hammer, or score with last rock.
It started with her draw in the second. With only the side of the button open to get second shot, Wrana made a great draw for two.
Tied 2-2 in the fourth end, Isabella was staring at four American rocks in the house as she went to throw her last stone. Once again, she delivered, making another great draw for one.
In the sixth end, Sweden had a chance to score big. But Rasmus had a poor throw, forcing Isabella to great again. She got Sweden a point to go up 4-3.
The final two ends were different, though. Isabella needed to come through with two hits, and considering she had thrown none in the first six ends, it could have been a tough adjustment.
But for Isabella, it’s her bread and butter.
In the seventh, Rasmus jammed on a double attempt, opening the door for the U.S. to possibly score three. Isabella didn’t let that happen, however, as she made a double to let the U.S. score only two.
Down 5-4 in the eighth, and the gold medal on the line, Isabella came through with one more clutch shot to score two and win the game.
Without Isabella playing the way she did, Sweden doesn't win.
It’s heartbreak again for the Brits
For everyone but the Olympic champions, the next four years can be tough. Curlers can sit and think about what they could have done differently to win the gold, and if they're lucky, they get another chance
Great Britain’s Dodds and Mouat did get a second Olympic shot, but history repeated itself.
At the 2022 Olympics, Dodds and Mouat went 6-3 in round-robin play, finishing as the No. 3 seed. They lost their semifinal match and the bronze-medal game that year.
Well, in 2026 it was a different path, but the same result. They went 8-1 in round-robin play, finishing as the No. 1 seed. But the playoffs once again got the best of them as they finished the event in fourth place.
The key moments were the difference in the bronze-medal match. Dodds had a shot for three in the first but missed and gave up a steal of one. In the fourth end, the Brits had the hammer and gave up a steal again to trail 3-1.
Those two steals came back to bite them in the eighth as they were without the hammer trailing 4-3, and couldn’t produce a steal.
Now, Mouat and Dodds will have another four years to think about how they can reach the podium in 2030, if they can get back.
This was only the first of three curling events at the Olympics. The men’s discipline gets underway on Wednesday, while the women’s starts on Thursday.
Canada will look for their first gold in either event since 2014.
