There has been a medal drought for the Swedish curling men in the European Championships, despite successes in the Olympics and World Championships. There has been no European Championship medal since the gold in 2019, and last year Team Edin did not even make it to the playoffs. But after Saturday's final victory against Switzerland, the team is once again European champions and medalists.
We've been pretty cold the last few years. I wouldn't say we've consciously slowed things down, but I think we've unconsciously done it, and not felt like we were at the same level and lost a bit of confidence. So I think this was important for us, not necessarily to win, but just to find confidence again and play well against top teams, and I think we did just that, says Edin after the victory.
Tension at the end
The Swedish team was able to steal two points in rounds one and five, but in round six Switzerland took their first point in the final and after round six the score was 2–1 to Team Edin.
Before round ten, Sweden led 4–2 after Swedish points in rounds seven and nine, but then Switzerland struck and took two points – forcing a tiebreaker in the final.
There, Sweden was able to secure the gold with the last stone after a skillful move by Niklas Edin.
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"We felt they could handle the stones very well out there, and we really needed to stay focused and not make any mistakes. I think we played at a very high level and didn't let them into the game," says Edin.
The team includes Oskar Eriksson, Rasmus Wranå, Christoffer Sundgren, skipper Niklas Edin and reserve Simon Olofsson.
After the European Championship gold medal, two Grand Slam tournaments await before the Olympics take place in Milan-Cortina in February. Team Edin is the reigning Olympic champion after the gold medal in Beijing 2022.
Double Swedish
I would say it's good timing after a few years in the making. I think we're exactly where we want to be. We're in really good shape and I think we haven't really "peaked" yet so I think things will look really interesting for the Olympics. A couple more months of training, focus, a little competition to get us to peak shape and then hopefully we can be as good as we were last time, says Edin about the team's shape ahead of the Olympics.
Earlier on Saturday, the Swedish women also won European Championship gold, after winning against Scotland 7–5 for team Hasselborg in their final.
Facts: Championship medals for Team Edin
TT
Olympics: Gold 2022, silver 2018 and bronze 2014.
World Cup: Gold 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024, silver 2017, bronze 2011 and 2012.
European Championships: Gold 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2025, silver 2011 and 2018.
