5 February 2026
Cathy Overton Clapham makes long awaited Olympic debut as coach of United States of America
With world titles and medals to her name — both as a player and a coach — Cathy Overton Clapham is a familiar face on the elite scene. Amongst her list of achievements, she won gold at the 2008 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship alongside Jennifer Jones, Jill Officer, Dawn Askin and Jennifer Clark-Rouire.
So, it would be surprising to learn that the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games is her first Olympic experience.
When asked about this, she smiles, “I’ve been trying for a lot of years to get to the Olympic Games,” she admits.
“I lost the [Canadian] Olympic Trials final in 2018 and then never got close enough again to make it, so I’m very excited to be here.”
Cathy has two other unique claims to fame in Cortina. First, she is the only person doubling up on team coaching duties here, first coaching the United States of America duo Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse in the mixed doubles campaign, before moving onto her coaching role with the American women’s team.
But more significantly, she is one of only three female team coaches in the mixed doubles event, and one of just a handful of women here in either team coach or national coach roles.
When informed about that, Cathy admits surprise, “I hadn’t thought about that before, but it’s pretty awesome that I’m one of only three female team coaches in mixed doubles.”
Thinking further she adds, “I’m not sure what signal that sends, but I feel I’m so lucky to be with Cory and Korey — we have a pretty good relationship”.
Cathy also thinks her own coaching style could be used by more coaches, saying, “I like to have fun with the team and I like to win — I’m a competitor as well. I just want everyone to be at their best.”
With little time for a break between competitions, Cathy must put everything that happens in the mixed doubles event behind her to focus on the next job.
And turning her attention to the second part of her Olympic quest in Cortina, she explains, “I’ll change hats whenever mixed doubles is done. This is priority right now and I’ll switch when the girls step on the ice.”
It might have been a long time coming, but with all that is to come over the next few weeks, Cathy Overton Clapham won’t be forgetting her Olympic experience in a hurry.
Follow the live scores from mixed doubles curling at Milano Cortina 2026 here.
Find the full mixed doubles schedule and results here.
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