Beijing 2022 Men’s curling: Top things to know about Team Sweden at the Winter Olympics
From Niklas Edin to Christoffer Sundgren, everything you need to know about Sweden ahead of the men's curling semifinal against Team Canada.
Curling
Sweden face Team Canada in the men's curling semifinal on Thursday 17 February (20:05 local time, 13:05 CET, 7:05 Toronto time) as they seek their second medal of Beijing 2022.
Team Sweden claimed bronze in the curling mixed doubles when Oskar Eriksson and Almida de Val enjoyed a 9-3 win over Team Great Britain at the National Aquatics Centre.
Niklas Edin has skipped the side since 2011 - bar the 2014 season - during which they have won bronze at Sochi 2014 and silver four years later at PyeongChang 2018.
Sweden won their opening seven round-robin games - including a 7-4 victory over Canada - before defeats to Great Britain and Denmark.
The winner of Team Sweden v Team Canada will face the winner of the Team USA v Team GB clash.
The two beaten sides will meet in the bronze medal game on Friday 18 February (14:05 local time, 7:05 CET, 22:00 PST on Thursday).
The gold medal game takes place on Saturday 19 February at 14:05.
Niklas Edin
Edin is competing at his fourth Winter Olympics after making his debut at Vancouver 2010 where Sweden finished one place outside the medals.
The 36-year-old is the only curler to skip his team to five gold medals at the World Championships since it was expanded to six teams in 1964.
Edin was also the first to win three straight world titles in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Oskar Eriksson
Eriksson is also appearing at his fourth Olympic Winter Games having claimed a three-medal haul so far.
With third place already secured at Beijing 2022, the 30-year-old is the first curling athlete to win three Olympic medals – bronze at Sochi 2014 (four-player), silver at PyeongChang 2018 (four-player) and bronze in mixed doubles in China.
He was the first curler to claim gold at three major championships in a single calendar year, winning the World Championship, European Championship and World Mixed Doubles Championship in 2019.
Eriksson has competed at 11 consecutive European Championships, winning seven gold medals, a record he shares with Edin.
Daniel Magnusson
Daniel Magnusson is making his Winter Olympic debut after enjoying a medal-laden rise in the senior ranks.
The 21-year-old made his senior bow at the 2018 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where he won silver.
Since then, Magnusson has won two world titles and continental gold.
He hails from Karlstad, Sweden, which hosted the 2012 European Championships that inspired the 12-year-old Magnusson.
He recalled: “I saw Nik (Edin) and Oskar (Eriksson).
"I saw all this atmosphere of how it would be in a championship. I got to carry the Swedish flag into the arena, as a junior from the club, and it was a big moment.
"Since that year I’ve always wanted to represent Sweden at the Olympics. I think I had the ambition when I was 12 years old that I would represent Sweden in 10 years.
"Now it’s 10 years later and I’m going to the Olympics. That’s pretty awesome.”
Rasmus Wranaa
Rasmus Wranaa is appearing at his second Olympic Winter Games, four years after making his bow at PyeongChang.
The 27-year-old has won three world titles and the matching number of European golds.
Curling is a Wranaa family tradition.
His father Mats Wranaa finished seventh at the 1995 European Championships in Grindelwald, Switzerland. He skipped the Swedish senior men's team to back-to-back world titles in 2016 and 2017, and a second-place finish in 2018.
Sister Isabella Wranaa won 2017 World Junior Championship gold and silver the following year as well as the 2019 Winter Universiade title following bronze in 2017.
She won the 2014 European Mixed Championships with her father as coach and was inducted into the Swedish Curling Hall of Fame in 2018.
Christoffer Sundgren
Christoffer Sundgren is making his second Winter Olympics appearance, four years after winning silver in PyeongChang.
The 27-year-old has won four world titles and four European golds.
Sundgren grew up in Sveg, a small town with a population of less than 3000. Despite it's size, the town has produced multiple Olympic medallists, including Anna Le Moine (gold 2006, 2010), Margaretha Sigfridsson (silver 2014), Maria Prytz (silver 2014) and Sundgren (silver 2018).