Mixed Doubles Curling Pair Kim Sunyoung and Jung Youngseok Earn Dramatic First Win...“Stun the United States”

Narrow 6-5 win in sixth round-robin game at Winter Olympics
Dramatic victory in extra end after conceding three points in the eighth
First win after five straight losses, semifinals race remains uphill

The mixed doubles curling team of Kim Seonyoung (Gangneung City Hall) and Jung Youngseok (Gangwon Provincial Office) claimed their first victory by defeating the United States.

On February 7 (local time), Kim Seonyoung and Jung Youngseok earned a 6-5 win over Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin of the United States in the sixth round-robin match of the mixed doubles curling at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, held at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. After the score was tied 5-5 through the eighth end, they scored a single point in the extra end to secure the victory. Having suffered five consecutive losses to Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic since the start of the tournament, Kim and Jung finally achieved their long-awaited first win.

Kim Sunyoung (left) and Jung Youngseok are celebrating at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, after defeating the United States in the sixth round-robin match of the mixed doubles curling at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Photo by AP Yonhap

Kim and Jung took the lead by scoring one point each in the first and second ends and maintained a narrow advantage. In the seventh end, during the opponent's power play situation (a right that allows the team with the hammer to change the positions of the pre-placed stones to create a chance for a big score, available once per game), they stole a point to extend the lead to 5-2 and appeared to seize control of the game. However, they conceded three points at once in the eighth end and were dragged into an extra end.

In the extra end, where they had the hammer, Jung's fourth stone pushed out several opposition stones clustered in the center to gain a favorable position, and Kim's final shot came to rest close to the button, finally sealing their first victory.

Although they managed to earn their first win with difficulty, advancing to the semifinals, where the medals are decided, has become virtually impossible. In mixed doubles curling, a mixed-gender two-player event, a total of 10 teams compete in a round-robin preliminary phase, with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals to determine the final standings. Great Britain has already secured a spot in the final four with seven straight wins, and there are already three other teams with four victories. With a record of 1 win and 5 losses, Korea is tied with the Czech Republic at the bottom of the standings.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.