 Isabella and Rasmus Wrana (Photo: Bildbyran) are the 2026 mixed doubles Olympic gold medalists. By: Cameron Sallaj When the dust settled after an intense week of competition at the Cortina Olympic Stadium, it was the Swedish siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wrana who stood atop the podium to claim the gold medal. It was an up and down week in the round robin for the Swedes who saw dominant success early on with convincing wins over South Korea and Czechia to open the competition. They then, however, suffered consecutive losses to Estonia and Great Britain before losing a 9-0 shutout to Norway. On the brink of elimination, the Wrana's climb back into contention with wins over Switzerland and pre-tournament favorites Italy and Canada. Despite losing their last round robin game, to the United States, the pair had done enough to advance to the playoffs as the fourth seeds with a 5-4 record. Facing top seeds Great Britain in the semifinal, the siblings brought their best game of the tournament, scoring five on the power play in six and closing out the match with a steal in the seventh, 9-3 the final score. This qualified them for the gold medal game where they'd rematch the United States' Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin. Through the first half, it was consecutive great shots from Thiesse and Wrana that put points on the board for their teams. After a long angle runback by Cory for one in the first, Isabella drew the side of the button for two in the second end, a point that would prove pivotal at the end of the match. In three, Thiesse just missed on a tap-back attempt for two points, resulting in just one for the USA. In four, however, it was Wrana who needed to draw the four-foot facing four to give Sweden a single and take a 3-2 lead heading to five. In the fifth, Sweden was able to force the US again after Thiesse's near impossible draw attempt slid a bit heavy. The United States played a strong power play defense in the sixth end though, only allowing the Swedes to score one after Isabella was perfect yet again on her final draw. Utilizing their power play in the seventh end, the Americans took their first multi-point end and lead of the game with a takeout by Cory Thiesse to score two. This gave the Americans a 5-4 lead, however, Sweden retained the hammer coming home. After the United States' stone just rolled open on Thiesse's last, Isabella Wrana just needed a peel shot to count two and secure the gold medal for her and her brother. Like she had all day, she delivered the stone to perfection, closing out the game at 97% and giving Sweden their first gold medal in mixed doubles curling. Previously winning the world championship in 2024, the Wrana siblings become the third Olympic mixed doubles gold medalists in curling, joining Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris of Canada (2018) and Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner of Italy (2022). They also succeed Sweden's previous best finish of bronze which came in 2022 from teammates Almida de Val and Oskar Eriksson. In addition to his mixed doubles gold medal, Rasmus Wrana is also a previous gold medalist as a member of the Niklas Edin rink. Also competing in the team event, he could become the first curler to win three Olympic gold medals if the Swedes are able to defend their title. On the other side of the coin, Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin take home the silver medal after an outstanding week at the Games. Through the round robin, the team had the highest shooting percentage and lived up to their expectations as pre-tournament favorites. In the semifinal, they knocked off the reigning Olympic champions from Italy and established themselves as household names with both casual and frequent curling fans. Despite not winning the gold, Cory Thiesse still becomes the first US female curler to win an Olympic medal, an incredible feat. With the mixed doubles competition wrapped up, the team competition in Cortina gets underway Wednesday night with the men set for the opening draw. This will feature new minted gold medalist Rasmus Wrana and Team Sweden against bronze medalist Amos Mosaner and Team Italy. Canada's Brad Jacobs also opens competition against Germany's Marc Muskatewitz while Czechia vs. USA and China vs. Great Britain is also on the docket. |
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Isabella and Rasmus Wrana (Photo: Bildbyran) are the 2026 mixed doubles Olympic gold medalists.
