ReportWire

Tag: bronze medal

  • Olympic games a long time coming for Team USA curler Korey Dropkin

    I was born and grew up and raised at the Curling Club. That club, Broomstones in Wayland, Massachusetts, *** place with *** down to earth approach to the sport. It was so nice growing up there. Some curling clubs have more of *** commercial business feel, and then there’s curling clubs that have *** real homey feel, and Brimstones is top of the list in terms of. That home club feel, um, and that’s like one of the things, probably the thing I appreciate most about Brimstones. Dropkin learned precision, teamwork, and strategy there. Three core principles he mastered, resulting in early success, *** bronze medal at the Junior Olympics. You know, it was that moment where I was like, wow, this is incredible. Like look at this medal. Now I want some more of this. Unfortunately, international success eluded him until now. With his mixed doubles partner Corey Thiessen, he’s headed to his first Olympic Games, something he visualized would happen for *** very long time. It’s just knowing that if I keep my head down, if I keep working hard, and if I keep dreaming big, that one day I can get there, and it might not be smooth because it hasn’t been smooth sailing, but if I don’t, if I don’t let up, if I don’t. You know, if I keep going, I can get there. And now he’s there. Dropkin and Thiessen playfully use the nickname Corey and Corey to reference their team. On the road to Milan Cortina, I’m Fletcher Mackle.

    Olympic games a long time coming for Team USA curler Korey Dropkin

    Updated: 3:00 AM PST Jan 22, 2026

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    The first curling club was founded in Scotland in 1716, but curling didn’t become an Olympic medal sport until the 1998 games in Nagano.As a child, Korey Dropkin watched Olympic curling on TV, and it was love at first sight. “I was born and raised growing up at the curling club,” Dropkin said.That club, Broomstones in Wayland, Massachusetts, a place with a down-to-earth approach to the sport.”It was so nice growing up there, you know, some clubs have a commercial, business-like feel, and then there’s curling clubs that have a real homey feel, and Broomstones is top of the list in having that home club feel,” Dropkin said.Dropkin learned precision, teamwork and strategy there, three core principles he mastered, resulting in early success, 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.Unfortunately, international success eluded him until now. Teaming with mixed doubles partner Cory Thiesse, he’s headed to his first Olympic Games, something he visualized for a long time.”Just knowing that if I keep my head down and I keep working hard and dreaming big, I could get there, and 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,” Dropkin said. And now he’s there. Dropkin and Thiesse use the playful nickname “Cory and Korey” for their team.

    The first curling club was founded in Scotland in 1716, but curling didn’t become an Olympic medal sport until the 1998 games in Nagano.

    As a child, Korey Dropkin watched Olympic curling on TV, and it was love at first sight.

    “I was born and raised growing up at the curling club,” Dropkin said.

    That club, Broomstones in Wayland, Massachusetts, a place with a down-to-earth approach to the sport.

    “It was so nice growing up there, you know, some clubs have a commercial, business-like feel, and then there’s curling clubs that have a real homey feel, and Broomstones is top of the list in having that home club feel,” Dropkin said.

    Dropkin learned precision, teamwork and strategy there, three core principles he mastered, resulting in early success, 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.

    Unfortunately, international success eluded him until now. Teaming with mixed doubles partner Cory Thiesse, he’s headed to his first Olympic Games, something he visualized for a long time.

    “Just knowing that if I keep my head down and I keep working hard and dreaming big, I could get there, and 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,” Dropkin said.

    And now he’s there. Dropkin and Thiesse use the playful nickname “Cory and Korey” for their team.

    Source link

  • Australia’s Eckhardt reaches podium at Slalom World Championships

    Australia has won its second medal at the ICF Slalom World Championships at Penrith’s Whitewater Stadium, with Kate Eckhardt claiming bronze in the women’s K1 final.

    Eckhardt, who started third in the 12-paddler final, avoided time penalties to lead the overall standings with 103.84 seconds for much of the medal round on Thursday afternoon.

    She shifted back to the silver-medal position when Poland’s Klaudia Zwolińska (100.32) completed her run, before Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods (102.09) moved into second place.

    Eckhardt had to endure an anxious wait when Camille Prigent went down as the final paddler, but the Frenchwoman eventually finished in sixth place.

    “I was proud of the run that I did, so I was really, really happy with how I performed and I put it all out there,” Eckhardt told the Nine Network.

    “So, I just had to wait and see. There were so many fast girls out there.

    “I was very, very nervous looking at who was to come.”

    Eckhardt’s teammate Noémie Fox (114.40) finished 12th in the final.

    It is Australia’s second medal of the world titles, with Kaylen Bassett collecting the bronze medal in the men’s C1 event on Thursday.

    Zwolińska has two gold medals, having topped the podium in the women’s C1 final.

    She finished second to Australia’s Jess Fox in the women’s K1 final at last year’s Paris Olympics.

    Fox is not competing in Penrith as she is continuing her recovery from surgery.

    Australia’s Lucien Delfour and Tim Anderson contested the men’s K1 final, finishing fifth and 10th respectively.

    Titouan Castryck won gold for France, ahead of Czech duo Jakub Krejčí and Jiří Prskavec.

    Source link

  • Aussie Bassett claims slalom medal at world titles as Fox falls short

    Australia’s Kaylen Bassett has collected the bronze medal in the men’s C1 event at the ICF Slalom World Championships at Penrith’s Whitewater Stadium.

    But star paddler Noémie Fox was in tears after a ninth-placed finish in the women’s C1 final on Thursday afternoon.

    French heavyweight Nicolas Gestin clocked 97.13 seconds to claim the men’s C1 gold, followed by Great Britain’s Ryan Westley (98.03).

    Competing in windy conditions, Bassett trailed Gestin by 1.61 seconds to be third out of the final 12 competitors.

    The 28-year-old was the fifth paddler to set a time and endured a nervous wait to find out if he had finished on the podium.

    It is Australia’s first medal of the world titles.

    “The conditions were pretty rough today and outside of rain, there’s not much else you really want to be happening on the water with the wind,” Bassett said.

    “But [on] the home course, I just felt comfortable. I was at home on the water to feel like I could just paddle my run.”

    Competing in front of family and friends, Bassett said he was “lost for words”.

    He felt vindicated after making the decision to move interstate from Melbourne to Penrith to further his career.

    “The medal today is awesome, but to have even just been racing here at home in the final, that was validation for the move enough,” said Bassett, who came to the sport in his late teens.

    “[You] Make a lot of sacrifices, things people don’t see, things people do see and that medal is just the cherry on top of it all. “

    Having competed internationally since 2021, Bassett’s bronze medal is his best finish at a world championship.

    Fox out of the medals

    Fox managed a clean run in the women’s final but finished adrift of the medals.

    Poland’s Klaudia Zwolińska won gold ahead of Russian Alsu Minazova (silver) and Brazil’s Ana Sátila (bronze).

    Noémie Fox was more than eight seconds off the pace in the women’s C1 final. (Getty Images: Andy Cheung)

    Fox, who claimed the gold medal in the kayak cross event at last year’s Paris Olympics, said it was an “amazing” experience to be competing in a world championship final in front of a home crowd.

    But despite avoiding time penalties, the Penrith local said she did not deliver a polished performance in the final, finishing more than eight seconds behind Zwolińska.

    “It’s incredibly frustrating because I was feeling great,” Fox said.

    “It’s a missed opportunity, but that’s the sport as well. And the wind was very hard to manage, for sure.”

    Fox’s campaign will continue when she contests the kayak and kayak cross events on Friday and Saturday respectively.

    “[I’m] Excited that’s two other opportunities I get,” Fox said.

    “I’m not just finishing on a frustrated low.”

    AAP/ABC

    Source link