Medals update: Sweden sweep to curling gold at Beijing 2022

Sweden's emotional skip Niklas Edin finally becomes Olympic champion after claiming fourth, bronze and silver at three previous Olympic Winter Games in men's curling.

In a high-quality match that needed an extra end for the first time ever in a men's Olympic final it was Sweden who came out on top beating Great Britain, who won the nation's first medal at Beijing 2022, 5-4 at the National Aquatics Centre on Saturday (19 February).

It only took until the third end for the game to spark into life with some sensational world-class stones from the top two teams in the men’s game in the world right now. Skip against skip, with two stones left Bruce Mouat played a fabulous shot to knock three of Sweden’s stones out of scoring positions. With Sweden trying not to give three away, Edin stepped up and matched Mouat’s skill, knocking two of Great Britain’s stones out of the way to leave Sweden’s stone centre circle for a three. With the last stone, GB managed to limit Sweden to a one, with the blue and yellows heading into a 3-1 lead.

The fourth end provided another tense moment with the Swedes asking for a measurement of the stones but it ended up going GB's way. The teams went into the fifth end with the pace-setting Swedes ahead by one, on 3-2.

After no score in the fifth, the teams headed into the halfway break 3-2. More of the same followed in the sixth end, and the score stayed the same.

A sensational shot from Grant Hardie in the seventh end put GB's yellow stone centre stage, which the Swedes could not move no matter what they tried. A steal for GB followed and the match was tied 3-3.

Sweden had the last stone in the eighth but only scored one, a small victory for GB, with the score 4-3 to Sweden heading into the ninth where an empty end left a final-end shootout.

Before the tenth end both teams were on 92 per cent accuracy. GB would have the last stone and needed two to win but instead scored the one they needed to tie.

In the extra end, and with Sweden's last stone, they scored the one they needed to clinch the Olympic title.

In three appearances at the Winter Olympics, Edin has finished – in order – fourth at Vancouver 2010, third at Sochi 2014, and second at PyeongChang 2018. But now, along with teammates – Oskar Eriksson, a now four-time Olympic medallist including bronze at Beijing 2022 in the mixed doubles, Daniel Magnusson – already a two-time world champion at 21, and Rasmus Wranaa who adds to this three world titles and his silver medal at PyeongChang 2018 he's an Olympic champion.

Edin was euphoic after the match: "It’s completely unbelievable. It’s an insane end to this tournament, both the semifinal and the final are incredibly well-played and tough matches. We fought all the way to the end and it was down to millimetres in many situations in both games.

"It feels so crazy, I almost had to ask someone before I came here, 'We have won, right?’

And on finally winning Olympic gold: "God, it’s nice. It’s obviously been an incredibly long journey with pretty disappointing defeats in a couple of the previous (Games).

"We know that the margins are small and it could’ve been the same thing this time too. We could’ve finished fourth with the same play that we had now, so just to get some results from this feels incredibly nice but also a lot more happiness than I thought I’d feel.

"I felt that it would be more of a relief as after the semifinal it was 100% relief. Now it is an incredible amount of joy and feelings too."

GB disappointment

It's been 98 years since British men won Olympic curling gold, which was at the first ever Olympic Winter Games in 1924, but they have matched the silver from Sochi 2014, the only other time the men have won an Olympic medal in curling.

GB's team also comprises Hammy McMillan whose father Hammy Senior represented GB in Salt Lake City 2002, the same event of the Stone of Destiny when GB's women won gold with the final stone; McMillan's cousin, Grant Hardie, was inspired to take up the sport after meeting Rhona Martin, the skip of that 2002 women's team; and Bobby Lammie, made his Olympic debut on his 25th birthday at Beijing 2022.

Speaking after the game, Mouat, who is world mixed double champion alongside childhood friend Jen Dodds, expressed his thoughts on coming so close to the ultimate prize: "We've been preparing for this for about five years and this is the moment we were hoping to have that win, so we're very disappointed."

Hardie added: "We're still very proud of that, particularly how we played all week. At the moment the overriding emotion is disappointment that we didn't bring home the gold for everyone."

In the men's curling bronze-medal match on Friday (18 February) Canada won bronze after a shootout with big rivals and reigning Olympic champions USA who ended the tournament in fourth.

GB women's gold-medal match takes place on Sunday 20 February.