'It might not be worth it' - Sweden captain Niklas Edin questions team's Winter Olympic future after curling controversy and 'horrible week'
Published 18/02/2026 at 19:12 GMT
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Sweden's talismanic captain Niklas Edin has questioned his side's Olympic future after a controversial week for the sport. Edin has three Winter Olympic medals to his name after competing in Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing. But his side failed to reach the semi-finals at the Milano Cortina Games - live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - and have become embroiled in a dispute with the Canadian team.
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Sweden’s talismanic curling captain Niklas Edin has revealed that his side will reassess if competing at the Winter Olympic Games is worthwhile after the defending champions failed to reach the semi-finals.
The Swedish team’s awful week also saw them become embroiled in a controversial dispute with Team Canada after Oskar Eriksson accused Marc Kennedy of illegally touching the stone twice during a match.
Curlers are not allowed to touch the stone again after releasing it, but Canada have been accused of doing it against Sweden and Switzerland in the men's tournament as well as in their clash with the Swiss in the women's event.
World Curling have responded by saying that they would place umpires at the hog line, where the double-touching is alleged to have taken place.
Edin was part of the Sweden teams that won medals in their last three appearances at the Winter Olympics, picking up bronze in Sochi, silver in Pyeongchang and gold four years ago in Beijing.
However, he believes that it may be time to reconsider if Sweden should send a side if the sport is not fun and the team can’t compete.
"We’ve got to listen in on everyone and see if it’s still fun to curl, (to see) if we still realistically think we have a chance four years from now," Edin said. "If not, then it might not be worth it.
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"We’re sacrificing a lot on the personal level to do this. Obviously, a team from Sweden doesn’t basically make any money doing this, so it’s kind of more for the enjoyment of the thing.
"And if that part disappears or goes down to not making up for everything else, then it’s definitely not going to be worth it."
Sweden are out of the tournament despite having one game left to play - they have only recorded two wins so far in the round-robin stage, beating Norway 7-4 and China 6-4.
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The Swedes were beaten by Italy, Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Germany and Switzerland during a difficult event for the team in Cortina.
Team GB will progress to the semi-finals of the tournament if one of Italy or Norway fall to defeat in the final set of round-robin matches.
Despite an entertaining tournament featuring several upsets and memorable moments, the event has undoubtedly been overshadowed by the double touch controversy.
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Edin admits that his side could have dealt with the situation differently, revealing that it contributed to their poor run of results.
"It’s tough to deal with," Edin added. "We maybe should have done something different and could have dealt with it differently, too.
"It would have been nice to just blank our minds and forget about it. But that was easier said than done.
"So a little lack of sleep, a little lack of focus on the right things, and it turned into a horrible week."
Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.
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