CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 8 (Reuters) - South Korea's mixed doubles curlers Jeong Yeong-seok and Kim Seon-yeong have finally found some form at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, bouncing back from a dismal run with back-to-back wins that have lifted spirits if not their medal hopes.
The pair lost their first four matches before grabbing a 6-5 victory over Americans Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse on Saturday, followed by a commanding 9-3 win over Estonia's Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill on Sunday.
Asked how they were feeling after the wins, Jeong said via an interpreter: "The results are important, obviously.
"But aside from results, we are now really able to soak in that Olympic experience after a few games. I think this experience is making us better curlers and better people."
For Kim, competing in her third Winter Olympics, the turnaround will no doubt bring back memories of better times.
She was a part of the South Korea women's team dubbed the "Garlic Girls" which won silver at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang while captivating home fans.
"At the time, we were popular in South Korea but I also felt appreciated by the love from foreign fans, and I feel so honoured to be supported (by fans) at my third Olympics," Kim Seon-yeong said.
"I'd like to repay that support by showing good performances in the rest of the games in the Olympics."
Each member of that women's team had a nickname by which they were known to their legion of fans, with Kim going by "Sunny".
"My foreign coach suggested I have an English name, so I thought about what would be good," she explained.
"I had a sunny-side-up egg for breakfast that morning, so I just made it Sunny, based on my Korean name (Seon-yeong)."
While their hopes of making the mixed doubles playoffs in Cortina d'Ampezzo appear dim even after their wins, Jeong said any momentum they are able to build up at the Games would help them ahead of the April 25 to May 2 World Championships.
"We feel satisfied about the result, it was a good game," he added.
"We will be able to be confident at other competitions, since we are playing in the World Championships after this Olympics ends."
(Reporting by Heejin Kim in Seoul and Aadi Nair in Cortina d'Ampezzo; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
