by Patrick Ekstrand, He Miao
STOCKHOLM, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish Olympic Committee (SOC) has set an ambitious target for the Beijing 2022 Olympics, saying that they aim to win a record number of medals.
"Our goal is to make it Sweden's strongest Winter Olympics of all time," SOC chief executive Peter Reinebo said in a press release recently.
He said that 15 medals may be achievable, a total that would match the Swedish medal tally in the Sochi 2014 Olympics.
However, even though Swedish athletes left the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang with fewer medals, 14, it was Sweden's greatest Winter Olympic success to date. Seven medals were gold, six were silver and only one was a bronze -- Sochi resulted in two gold medals, seven silver medals and six bronze medals.
Overall, only five nations were more successful than Sweden in the last Winter Games. However, on the women's side the country with a population of only 10.4 million had the best squad.
"The medal outcome was formidable in 2014 as well as in 2018 and while it will be very difficult to match those results, the squad that we send to Beijing is slightly stronger than the one that competed in PyeongChang," Reinebo said.
The SOC announced on Monday that Sweden will send 116 athletes -- its largest Winter Olympic squad ever -- to the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The Swedish Olympic Committee has every reason to set an ambitious goal. So far this season, Swedish athletes have won more than 25 World Cup events in five different winter sports.
In skating, they have Nils van der Poel holding double world records -- for 5,000 and 10,000 meters. He set the 5,000 meter world record as late as in December and is considered one of Sweden's strongest medal candidates.
The biathlon teams are also seen as likely to win several medals, especially the women's team spearheaded by sisters Hanna and Elvira Oberg. Their teammates have also done well in the World Cup lately, making a relay medal very possible.
Even in the absence of the Oberg sisters, the women's relay team finished second in the recent World Cup event in Ruhpolding, Germany. One of the team members was Stina Nilsson, who claimed four cross-country skiing medals in PyeongChang. Despite being somewhat of a biathlon rookie, she was recently selected to represent Sweden in Beijing.
Although not as successful as the women's team so far this winter, the men's team is also expected to do well, provided that they can hold their nerves on the shooting range -- something which they have done in previous Olympics. Three of the four biathletes in the Swedish men's squad in Beijing were in the team that won the 2018 Olympic men's relay.
Then there is also the biathlon mixed relay, which may also result in a podium in Beijing.
The Swedish cross-country skiing team has traditionally won many Olympic medals and also this year's team may very well achieve some podiums, especially the women athletes who so far this season have been more successful than the men.
Alpine skier Sara Hector has had a formidable start of the year with a string of World Cup medals, while Sandra Naslund is feared by many of her skicross competitors.
Although billed as a favorite in slopestyle and big air in the previous two Olympics, free skier Henrik Harlaut has not yet claimed an Olympic medal. However, the 30-year-old has over the last decade won several Winter X Games and once again has to bear the burden of being a favorite.
Sweden is also a very strong curling nation, on the women's side as well as the men's, and in the wake of their successes, the sport has become very popular among Swedish TV viewers. ■