The U.S. is going for gold.
Americans Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse defeated reigning Olympic gold medalists Amos Mosaner and Stefania Constantini of Italy in their curling mixed doubles semifinal on Monday.
It was a touch of revenge for the U.S. entry, which fell to the Italian duo in the final game of the round robin play earlier in the day.
The semifinal was a back-and-forth battle to be assured a medal.
Dropkin and Thiesse got three crucial points in the fourth end to take the lead, with the drama only escalating from there. The Italians went on to reclaim the lead, 8-7, in the seventh end with three points of their own.
The Americans, however, had what they needed when it mattered in the eighth and final end. Thiesse came through with the two game-winning points, pushing just enough to bump Italy’s stone out.
The victory set up Team USA to face Swedish siblings Rasmus and Isabella Wrana in the gold medal match on Tuesday.
Regardless of the finale’s outcome, Dropkin and Thiesse will be the first Americans to win Olympic curling medals since 2018 when John Shuster’s team won the men’s gold in PyeongChang.
No American mixed duo has won a mixed doubles medal since the event was introduced in the Olympics of that same year.
Dropkin and Thiesse previously defeated the Swedish duo in the round robin stage.
As they proved today, that doesn’t mean anything just yet.
