Korey Dropkin

Korey Dropkin (born June 11, 1995) is an American curler originally from Southborough, Massachusetts. At the 2026 Olympics, he and Cory Thiesse became the first American team to win a medal in Olympic mixed doubles curling, winning the silver medal.

Curling career

Juniors As a junior curler, Dropkin won three United States Junior Curling Championships, playing third for his brother Stephen in 2012 and skipping in 2013 and 2016 while curling at Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland, MA. As such, he played for the United States at the World Junior Curling Championships, finishing 5th at the 2012 World Junior Curling Championships and 7th at the 2013 World Junior Curling Championships.

Dropkin was a member of the U.S. team at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics, skipping a team that included Sarah Anderson, Thomas Howell, and Taylor Anderson. The team finished 5th at the event; after going undefeated in the round-robin, they were eliminated in the quarter-final against Italy. Dropkin did not go away from the event empty handed, as he picked up a bronze medal at the mixed doubles event with teammate Marina Verenich of Russia.

Dropkin also represented the United States at the 2013 Winter Universiade, playing lead for the Chris Plys's team. That team finished in 5th place.

Men's On the World Curling Tour, Dropkin has been a regular at events held in the U.S., playing in his first event at the 2010 Laphroaig Scotch Open at the age of 15. Dropkin won his first Tour event by winning the 2014 Twin Cities Open.

Dropkin usually plays skip, but for two seasons from 2016 to 2018 played second for Heath McCormick. The team also included Chris Plys at third and Tom Howell at lead. During Dropkin's second season with Team McCormick, he won his first medal at the United States Men's Championship, earning silver when they lost to Greg Persinger's team in the final.

In 2019, Dropkin competed at his first World Men's Championship, as alternate for John Shuster's team. The team finished fifth, losing their first playoff game to Team Yuta Matsumura from Japan.

In 2021, Dropkin won his first United States Men's Curling Championship, which was postponed until after that year's Worlds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following season, he finished runner-up at the 2021 United States Olympic Curling Trials, after losing to the defending Olympic champion John Shuster rink in the final. As the 2022 US nationals were cancelled due to the pandemic, Dropkin's rink was invited to represent the US at the 2022 World Men's Curling Championship, where he led his team to a fourth place finish.

Dropkin formed a new team in the 2022-23 season, joining former junior teammates Stopera, Fenner, and Howell. The team had good success, winning a bronze medal at the 2022 Pan Continental Curling Championships, and finishing fourth in . The rink won their first men's national title together at the 2025 United States Men's Curling Championship, representing USA at the 2025 World Men's Curling Championship. At the 2025 Worlds, the team went 4-8 after the round robin, finishing a disappointing 11th place.

Mixed doubles Sarah Anderson (2015–2022) Dropkin first played mixed doubles with Sarah Anderson, where they won the United States Mixed Doubles Championship twice, in 2015 and 2018. At the 2015 World Mixed Doubles Championship, they finished the round-robin second in their group but lost to Team Canada in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. They again made the playoffs when they returned to the Worlds in 2018, but again went winless in the playoffs, losing to Team Hungary and Team Italy to finish in 13th place. Dropkin also played with Jamie Sinclair at the 2017 United States mixed doubles curling Olympic trials, where they finished in seventh place. At the 2020 U.S. Mixed Doubles Championship, Dropkin and Anderson lost to Joe Polo and Tabitha Peterson, the eventual champions, in the semifinals, but defeated Monica Walker and Alex Leichter to win the bronze medal. Dropkin and Anderson played in the 2021 United States mixed doubles curling Olympic trials, where they finished in third, losing to Jamie Sinclair and Rich Ruohonen in the semifinal.

Cory Thiesse (2022–present) Dropkin started playing mixed doubles with Cory Thiesse during the 2022–23 curling season, where they found immediate success, winning the 2023 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Championship over former partner Anderson and men's teammate Andrew Stopera. This qualified them to represent the United States at the 2023 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, where they would finish 7–2 in the round robin, and then go on to win the gold medal, beating Japan's Chiaki Matsumura and Yasumasa Tanida 8–2 in the final for the USA's first world mixed doubles gold medal. Dropkin and Thiesse would be unable to repeat their title in 2024, after losing the 2024 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Championship final to Becca Hamilton and Matt Hamilton. Their silver medal performance however, qualified them for the 2025 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials. At the US Olympic Trials, Thiesse and Dropkin went 8–1 in the round robin, and then went on to beat Anderson and Stopera in a best of three games final to qualify for the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. At the 2025 Worlds, Thiesse and Dropkin would finish in 5th place, earning enough points to directly qualify them to represent the USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics. At those Olympics he and Cory Thiesse became the first American team to win a medal in Olympic mixed doubles curling, winning the silver medal. and is employed as a realtor and investor in Duluth, Minnesota. He is Jewish.

Teams Men's Season Skip Third Second Lead Alternate Coach Events 2009–10 Stephen Dropkin Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Ryan McMakin Cameron Ross 2010 USJCC (4th) 2010–11 Stephen Dropkin Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Derek Corbett Cameron Ross 2011 USJCC 2011–12 Stephen Dropkin Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Derek Corbett Cameron Ross Sandra McMakin 2012 USJCC (5th) 2012–13 Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Mark Fenner Alex Fenson Connor HogeKeith Dropkin 2013 USJCC (7th) 2013–14 Chris Plys Stephen Dropkin Sean Beighton Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Phill Drobnick 2013 WUG (5th) Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Mark Fenner Alex Fenson 2014 USJCC 2014–15 Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Mark Fenner Andrew Stopera Luc Violette 2015 USJCC (6th) Ethan Meyers Quinn Evenson Steven Szemple William Pryor Korey Dropkin Linda Christensen (5th) 2015–16 Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Mark Fenner Alex Fenson Quinn Evenson Wally Henry (WJCC) (4th)2016 USJCC 2016–17 Heath McCormick Chris Plys Korey Dropkin Tom Howell (6th)2017–18Heath McCormick Chris Plys Korey Dropkin Tom Howell 2018–19 Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Mark Fenner Alex Fenson (4th) John Shuster Chris Plys Matt Hamilton John Landsteiner Korey Dropkin Derek BrownDon Bartlett (5th) 2019–20 Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Mark Fenner Alex Fenson Joe Polo (5th)2020–21 Korey Dropkin Joe Polo Mark Fenner Tom Howell Alex Fenson 2021–22 Korey Dropkin Joe Polo Mark Fenner Tom Howell Alex Fenson 2021 USOCT (4th)2022–23 Korey Dropkin Andrew Stopera Mark Fenner Tom Howell Mark Lazar 2023–24 Korey Dropkin (Fourth) Andrew Stopera (Skip) Mark Fenner Tom Howell Mark Lazar (4th) 2024–25 Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Andrew Stopera Mark Fenner Chris Plys (WMCC) Mark Lazar (11th) 2025–26 Korey Dropkin Tom Howell Andrew Stopera Mark Fenner Mark Lazar

Mixed doubles Season Female Male Events 2011–12 Marina Verenich Korey Dropkin 2012 WYOG 2014–15 Sarah Anderson Korey Dropkin (5th) 2017–18 Sarah Anderson Korey Dropkin (13th) 2018–19 Sarah Anderson Korey Dropkin (QF) 2019–20 Sarah Anderson Korey Dropkin 2020–21 Sarah Anderson Korey Dropkin 2021–22 Sarah Anderson Korey Dropkin 2021 USMDOT (5th) 2022–23 Cory Thiesse Korey Dropkin 2023–24 Cory Thiesse Korey Dropkin 2024–25 Cory Thiesse Korey Dropkin 2025 USMDOT (5th) 2025–26 Cory Thiesse Korey Dropkin

Mixed Season Skip Third Second Lead Coach Events 2011–12 Korey Dropkin Sarah Anderson Thomas Howell Taylor Anderson Wally Henry 2012 WYOG (5th)

Grand Slam record

Event 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP N/A DNP Q Q QF Q Tour Challenge DNP Q T2 T2 N/A N/A T2 Q Q Q The National DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP SF QF DNP DNP Canadian Open Q DNP DNP QF N/A N/A QF Q DNP DNP Players' DNP DNP DNP N/A DNP DNP Q DNP Q DNP Champions Cup Q DNP DNP N/A DNP Q DNP N/A N/A N/A