BEIJING (Reuters) -Sweden clinched their first men’s Olympic curling gold medal after skip Niklas Edin led them to a 5-4 extra-end victory over Britain in a controlled but tensely-fought contest at the National Aquatics Centre on Saturday.
Edin read the ice to near-perfection in a close, tactical battle, forcing Britain to draw for one in the 10th end before he delivered the knockout blow in the extra end without playing his final stone.
The door was open for Britain’s Bruce Mouat to potentially lie two and seal the win but he could not dislodge the red Swedish rock in the button despite frantic efforts from his sweepers.
There was a literal silver lining for Britain, however, as their second-placed finish brought the nation’s first medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Edin’s Sweden surprisingly finished runners-up to the United States four years ago in Pyeongchang, while they also won bronze at the Sochi Games in 2014.
On Friday, Canada beat the U.S. 8-5 to win bronze and ensure the country avoided a podium shutout at the Olympics, after their mixed doubles and women’s teams missed the playoffs.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma; Editing by Clare Fallon and Andrew Cawthorne)
