Gold medalists of Sweden pose during the award ceremony of curling men's event of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at National Aquatics Center in Beijing on Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)
Sweden edges Britain through an extra end to win its first Olympic gold medal in the men's team curling.
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Sweden claimed the gold medal in the men's team curling by beating Britain 5-4 through an extra end at Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games here on Saturday.
Skipped by five-time world champion and PyeongChang silver medalist Niklas Edin, Sweden was ahead 3-2 after six ends, while Britain leveled the game 3-3 in the seventh with a counting stone and sound defense.
The Swedes retook a one-point lead in the eighth end, before Britain blanked the ninth and tied 4-4 in the 10th to force an extra end, where Sweden scored one single point to seal their victory.
"We got a few mistakes out of them, which we had to hope for, because they had hammer and we needed to play a perfect game to win them," said Sweden's third player Oskar Eriksson.
Oskar Eriksson of Sweden competes during the curling men's gold medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics against Britain at National Aquatics Center in Beijing on Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)
This is Sweden's first Olympic gold medal in the men's team curling. Edin completed an unprecedented Olympic cycle, finishing fourth in 2010, third in 2014, second in 2018, and now first in 2022.
"Since we lost the final in PyeongChang, the goal was always to come here in Beijing and win the gold medal. We knew it's gonna be a long and really tough ride to get here and have a chance to win it. So we are super happy to win it," said Edin.
"I'm super proud of our team as we stuck together and played the best tournament in our life," he added.
This is also the second medal for Eriksson at Beijing 2022 after winning a bronze in the mixed doubles. "The gold is amazing and heavy, and I'm gonna have a sore neck tomorrow," Eriksson laughed.
The women's curling final will be played between Britain and Japan on Sunday. ■
