Curler Korey Dropkin Reaches Olympics After 32-Year Dream

At six years old, Korey Dropkin fell in love with curling while watching the 1988 Olympics on TV, and he never stopped chasing that dream.

Thirty-two years later, the Massachusetts curler is finally heading to the Olympics. He'll compete in mixed doubles at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games with partner Cory Thiesse, and the team playfully calls themselves "Cory and Korey."

Dropkin grew up at Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland, Massachusetts, a place he describes as having a real homey feel. While some curling clubs operate like commercial businesses, Broomstones felt like family.

That welcoming atmosphere helped him master the sport's three core principles: precision, teamwork, and strategy. His hard work paid off early when he won a bronze medal at the Junior Olympics.

"It was that moment when I was like, this is incredible, like look at this medal, now I want some more of this," Dropkin said. But international success proved elusive for decades after that early taste of victory.

Dropkin never gave up on his Olympic dream, even when the path got rough. He kept his head down, worked hard, and kept dreaming big.

"It might not be smooth because it hasn't been smooth sailing, but if I don't let up, if I keep going, I can get there," he said. And he was right.

Why This Inspires

Dropkin's journey shows that childhood dreams don't have expiration dates. He visualized making the Olympics for most of his life, spending 32 years honing his craft and waiting for his moment.

His story proves that persistence matters more than immediate success. That Junior Olympics bronze medal as a young athlete didn't guarantee anything, but it fueled a fire that burned for three decades.

Now he gets to represent Team USA on the world's biggest stage, proving that keeping faith in yourself can eventually pay off. The six-year-old watching curling on TV in 1988 is finally going to live his Olympic dream.

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