Sweden's men's curling team, Lag Edin, has been eliminated from the Olympics in Cortina following a 3-7 loss to Germany. The team has won only one of six round-robin matches and cannot reach the semifinals. Skipper Niklas Edin called it heavy and noted that a dispute with Canada affected their performance.
Sweden's men's curling team arrived at the Olympics in Cortina as one of the hottest gold contenders, but the tournament has turned into a fiasco. The team, consisting of Niklas Edin, Oskar Eriksson, Rasmus Wranå, and Christoffer Sundgren, has only one win in six matches. Elimination was confirmed with a 3-7 loss to Germany's Team Marc Muskatewitz, despite three round-robin games remaining.
Skipper Niklas Edin, the reigning Olympic champions and on his fifth straight Games, stated: 'We have not come up to level at all. In hindsight, we were not close. It feels very heavy.' He pointed to Sunday's loss to the USA as a turning point where the air went out of the team. The publicized dispute with Canada also drained energy: 'There has been a lot around what happened against Canada. Unfortunately, it has taken a lot of energy. I think it has taken sleep from us. It showed in the matches too.'
Historically, Edin's teams have performed strongly at the Olympics: fourth in Vancouver 2010, followed by bronze, silver, and gold. Edin, likely on his last Olympics in 2026, mentions injuries as a factor for the future: 'It's hard to predict four years ahead. I have had a lot of injuries in recent years.' After the loss, he said: 'Right now, the next Olympics feels far away. But you shouldn't go shopping when you're hungriest.'
The team now focuses on the World Championships in Ogden, Utah, from March 27 to April 4, aiming for an eighth gold. 'We have to try to regroup for the Worlds, put this behind us,' Edin said. An analysis in Dagens Nyheter suggests a risk that the team could disband after the Worlds, given previous Olympic finishes of 4th-3rd-2nd-1st and now zero in Cortina.
