7 February 2026
Republic of Korea record first Milano Cortina 2026 win with extra end
Republic of Korea defeated United States of America by 6-5 with the last stone of an extra end in Saturday evening’s ninth mixed doubles round-robin session. This result means that every team has now won at least one game so far.
Republic of Korea took the initiative from the get go, scoring one point in the first end and then stealing another point in the second end, earning a 2-0 lead.
United States of America got onto the scoreboard in the third end with a score of one, thanks to a double take-out by Cory Thiesse. The teams then swapped singles for the next three ends, but in the seventh, Thiesse misjudged her final tap to give the Koreans a steal of one and a 5-2 lead.
However, in the eighth, Thiesse made amends when, with her last stone, she produced a raise take-out to score three points and level the game at 5-5, forcing an extra end. In that extra end, Kim Seonyeong drew her final stone onto the button to score the one point that gave Republic of Korea their 6-5 win.
After this win, Jeong Yeongseok said, “Obviously that was big, but I think the most important thing is that I think we showed the world that the Korean mixed doubles team is capable of winning on the world stage.
“Technically and strategically, we are able to win on the world level, so it’s very big for Korean curling.”
Meanwhile Kim Seonyeong added, “It’s obviously hard to find positives in tough results at the beginning of the event, but we just trusted each other, we trusted in the process that we’ve had before prior to the Olympics.
“We obviously won our tickets through the Olympic Qualifying Event, and we just needed to trust each other, believe in the process and perform well in each game.”
Speaking about her tense final stone in the extra end, Kim added, “I didn’t really think about the crowd. If there’s only one fan in the crowd cheering for me that’s all I need but there were many people cheering for us which was a big help.
“But I knew going into an extra end the last shot would be a draw and Yeongseok gave me all the information I needed and I just needed to trust him and make the shot.”
Switzerland faced Czechia in this session, knowing that a win was needed to keep their campaign alive.
They opened with a steal of two in the first end when Czechia’s Juile Zelingrova was heavy with her final draw.
Switzerland led by 3-2 at the fourth end break but then, in the fifth, Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann took out a Czech stone to leave four of her own counting, for a 7-2 lead. A further three points in the seventh end completed Switzerland’s 10-3 win.
This result puts Switzerland into joint fifth place with Canada and keeps their semi-final hopes alive.
Yannick Schwaller said, “We don’t think too much in that direction, we’re just trying to improve in every game and we know everything is possible.
“We were feeling good because we knew for the first time what the ice conditions would be like. So, it’s just get your head in the right spot and execute well.”
His wife Briar agreed, “It’s really nice to play on, so we’re pleased with the ice conditions. In the morning, we stuttered a little bit, but we improved our performance this evening.”
For the first time, the Swiss couple have their toddler son River with them and, about that, Briar said, “It’s fun — it’s a different chapter.
“You get a different perspective on curling and sport in general, being a mum or a dad. River is here and we’re enjoying every moment that we can share with him. Of course, it’s hard that we don’t see him all the time but we’re glad that he’s here.”
In the other games of this session, Estonia handed Canada their second loss of the day — and their third in succession — when they won 8-6.
The Estonians opened with a score of three in the first end when Marie Kaldvee took out a Canadian stone, and never looked back from that.
In the fourth game of the session, Italy beat Norway by 6-5 when, in the eighth end, Kristin Skaslien’s heavy strike could not remove an Italian stone.
With leaders Great Britain already qualified for the semi-finals, Italy, United States of America and Sweden currently occupy the other three qualifying slots, with Canada and Switzerland right behind them.
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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