5 Team USA stars with surprising day jobs: Ryan Cochran Siegle, Korey Dropkin and their Olympic medal journeys revealed

Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Korey Dropkin, and Cory Thiesse did not just win medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. They also showed that life outside sports is very real for them. While fans saw them on snowy hills and curling ice, these athletes were also thinking about farms, real estate deals, lab work, fashion shows, and dental clinics. Here are five Olympic stars who balance medals with everyday jobs.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Korey Dropkin, Cory Thiesse, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen and Tara Peterson balance Olympic glory with real life jobs

Winning a medal sounds like a full-time life. But for many Winter Olympic athletes, that is not the case. Let’s look at five who work regular jobs while chasing Olympic dreams.

1. Ryan Cochran-Siegle runs his family maple syrup farm

Ryan Cochran-Siegle won a silver medal in Super-G at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. He also won silver in the same event at the 2022 Beijing Games.

When he is not skiing at high speed, he helps at his family’s maple syrup business in Vermont called Slopeside Syrup. He once joked, “I am a professional maple syrup chugger.”

Skiing has always been part of his life. He started at age two with help from his mother, Barbara Cochran, who is an Olympic champion herself.

2. Korey Dropkin works as a real estate agent

Korey Dropkin won a silver medal in mixed doubles curling with Cory Thiesse in Italy. They became the first American mixed doubles team to win an Olympic medal in curling.

Away from the rink, Dropkin is a licensed realtor in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He works with Superior Shores Real Estate Group.

He once said, “I have got a lot of great colleagues that have supported my dreams and helped me out with showings and helped my clients out.”

3. Cory Thiesse works as a lab technician

Cory Thiesse also made history with that mixed doubles silver medal. She studied exercise science at the University of Minnesota.

Today, she works as a lab technician at her mother’s mercury testing company in Duluth, Minnesota. The flexible schedule helps her train and compete at a high level.

4. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen is also a runway model

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won gold in Giant Slalom in Italy. The Norwegian-Brazilian skier is known for his bold style.

Besides skiing, he works as a runway model and is a brand ambassador for Moncler Grenoble. At the opening ceremony, he wore a cape with a Brazilian flag design. Fashion is a big part of his life off the slopes.

5. Tara Peterson works as a dentist

Tara Peterson competed in the team curling event in Italy, where Team USA finished fourth.

Outside curling, she is a dentist in Minnesota. She works at Gentle Dentistry in White Bear Lake. Like her parents, she chose a medical career while still competing at the highest level in sports.

These athletes show that Olympic glory and normal work life can go together. They train hard, compete for their country, and then return to farms, offices, labs, fashion runways, and dental clinics. Their medals shine bright, but their everyday work makes their stories even stronger.


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