Niklas Edin and his Swedish curling rink had a wonderful season that finished with yet another championship.
Sweden beat Brad Gushue of Canada 8-6 in the finals of the World Men’s Curling Championship in Las Vegas, USA, just two months after winning their first Olympic gold medal at Beijing 2022.
Sweden becomes the first nation to win the Olympic and World Men’s crowns in the same year thanks to Edin’s sixth triumph, which also solidifies the city’s place among the sport’s all-time greats.
Edin commented after the triumph, “I think we’ve done a lot of great things in the last few of years,” as reported by World Curling.
Simply put, the results of our hard work and extensive discussion of our goals for the future are astounding.
Oskar Eriksson was third on Edin’s team, while Rasmus Wran was second, and Daniel Magnusson was in the top position.
Even though the Canadians jumped out to an early 3-0 lead owing to a steal of two in the second end, Edin tied the game with a steal of one of his own in the fourth end.
Both skips were looking for the slightest possible edge, and a tense battle ensued as a result. Even with a full house, Gushue could only manage to score one point in the crucial seventh end, tying the score at 5-5.
At 6-6 in the tenth end, Gushue failed to score a draw, allowing Sweden to win two points without Edin having to play the hammer.
This is Gushue’s second major championship medal of the season; earlier, he led his rink to bronze in the Olympic Games in Beijing.
Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, and Geoff Walker will no longer compete as Team Gushue after their silver medal performance at the world championships.
As he moves to Alberta with his fiancee Jocelyn Peterman, Gallant will take with him a third World Men’s medal from his time with the Newfoundland squad.
The Italians Took Home the Bronze.
Italy, led by skip Jol Retornaz, defeated the hosts, the United States, 13-4 in only eight ends to win bronze at the World Championships.
It’s the icing on the cake for Italian curling, which also triumphed in the mixed doubles event at the Beijing Olympics.
Who are Some of the Former World Men’s Curling Champions?
Edin and Team Sweden are the current champions after taking home four straight titles. Canada has won the most medals (36 total) at this competition. Sweden is still in second place with 11, and Scotland is in third with 5.
Past champions include only Canada, Sweden, Scotland, the USA, Norway, and Switzerland. Each of the four countries (Germany, Denmark, Finland, and France) has won a medal, but none of them have won the gold.
