Five-time world champion. Olympic bronze medalist. Olympic silver medalist.
Finally, Niklas Edin from Sweden has won the title of the last major title in a career that saw him become the most decorated curler in history.
Four years after his defeat to American upstart John Shuster in the Pyeongchang Games final, Edin led Sweden in winning the gold medal. He beat Britain 5-4 in Saturday’s extra-end men’s final.
Canada was ready to claim the bronze medal it won on Friday, so Edin used the last-rock advantage in Friday’s tiebreaker and placed his penultimate rock in the middle of the target area.
The Swedes won the match after British skip Bruce Mouat failed on a ricochet. They both paused, as it is not polite to celebrate the loss of an opponent, and then they let out a yell.
Their alternate and coaching staff raced down to the ice for the celebration.
Edin has completed four Olympic trips. Oskar Eriksson and Rasmus Wrana are his co-hosts this time. Christoffer Sundgren is also there.
Eriksson won the bronze medal in mixed doubles and is the first person to ever win two curling golds at an Olympics. In the third-place mixed doubles game, he also defeated Mouat.
The British won silver, their first medal at the Beijing Games. However, they did not win the gold that would have made the sport more popular in Britain since curling was reinstated to the Olympic program in 2002. On Sunday, they will face Japan in the women’s final.
Sweden led 3-1 with two points in second half and a steal in the third. Edin dominated the fifth and sixth ends, taking zero points to keep the last-rock advantage.
To tie the score at 3-3, the British stole one in seventh. Then, Sweden got one in eighth. To have the hammer in the 10th, Britain threw its final stone through an empty house in ninth.
In the final regulation end, Sweden beat the yellow British stones. Mouat then scored a draw to send the match into extra ends. Edin won the 11th set, but the Swedes still had the hammer.
Later Saturday, the Swedish women would play Switzerland in a bronze medal match.
