Defending champion Sweden pushed to brink of elimination from Olympic men’s curling
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Defending men’s curling gold medalist Sweden was pushed to the brink of elimination from the Milan Cortina Olympics on Tuesday with a 7-3 loss to Germany.
The loss was Sweden’s fifth in six games of round-robin play, putting the curling powerhouse at the bottom of the standings along with Czechia and China and likely out of semifinal contention.
The Swedish men won gold in Beijing in 2022 and silver in Pyeongchang four years earlier. Sweden also won gold in mixed doubles at these Olympics, beating the United States.
“We just didn’t get up to our best level this tournament, and to be in the playoff in this tournament you have to be on your best level,” said Rasmus Wranå, the mixed doubles champion with his sister, Isabella Wranå.
Sweden ignited a controversy during its loss to Canada when Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian Marc Kennedy of breaking the rules by double-touching. The Swedes also lost to Italy, Britain and the U.S. while beating China.
Kennedy reacted angrily to Eriksson’s accusation, and World Curling temporarily ramped up official monitoring of matches. On Sunday, the federation scaled that back.
Wranå and Eriksson said the kerfuffle was not to blame for the team’s struggles. Against Germany, the Swedes were “just making too many half shots and a few mistakes here and there,” Eriksson said.
Eriksson had no regrets about raising the issue of double-touching and was happy with the way World Curling handled the situation.
“For us, it’s been a problem the last couple of years,” he said. “So we think it’s good that everyone can play with the same rules.
“Hopefully it’s just getting better from this,” he said.
___
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
