The skip will “hopefully” play in Rock League
It was a little before midnight on a Sunday night in Sweden when the social media post arrived.
There it was. Niklas Edin, one of the greatest of all time, certainly the finest Scandinavian curling athlete in the sport’s history, was leaving Swedish (and world and Olympic) curling.
In the 40-year-old’s own words, he has made “a tough and scary decision. To quit while ahead and have time to explore what else is out there!”
Stephen Fisher-World CurlingEdin added: “Don’t worry tho, I’ll be close to the game, watching, coaching, commentating and hopefully playing in the Rock League!
“To not forget anyone, I wanna thank everyone who’s been on board this incredible journey and helped steering the ship through storms and peaceful sunrises! To all you fans that have been so kind and happy to follow our games closely! e.g. To family and close ones cheering from afar.
“I hope you enjoyed the ride!? I sure did!”
Appointed King (by us) in 2017Edin won eight world championships – his final title coming just a few weeks ago in the United States – as well as eight European Championship titles.
It was the three Olympic medals, however, which elevated him to exalted status within the Roaring Game. After a stirring run to the bronze medal game at Vancouver 2010 – which his team lost for a fourth-place finish – Edin proceeded to win bronze in 2014, silver in 2018 and finally gold in 2022.
His team’s collapse at last February’s Winter Olympic Games in Italy is the only dark spot on a stellar career.
The difficulty of that Olympic performance gave hints to what Edin was thinking at the time.
Start of The Spinner, which made history“We’ll have a massive sit-down, talk through everything,” Edin told the media in Cortina. “It’s been a long run. Me and Oskar (third Eriksson) have been on the same team for, I think, 17 years now. So we’ll see what happens.
“It’s not an easy decision for any of us, and obviously it’s a team decision, too. So 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. If not, then it might not be worth it.
“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.
“So we’re going to have to see if we still think it’s enjoyable to do this.”
World CurlingEdin social media post started by telling the story of a Swedish Curling Academy teacher in 2003 who asked his students about their long-term goals. Other students said “make it to a nationals” or “win the nationals and qualify for the worlds would be cool!”
Edin was 17, and had just started curling three or four years earlier. His answer?
“Win five world championships at skip, the record is four!
“The teacher probably rolled his eyes at that point,” Edin continued, “ but also saw a drive and motivation that was through the roof.
World Junior champ in 2004 • Michael Burns-Curling Canada“The seven years to come the boy lived, breathed, ate and shit curling 365 days a year. ‘No curler can possibly train more or better!’... then came the injuries followed by surgeries, year after year.
“Doctors told him to quit sports and stop training or a wheelchair would be waiting. ‘No sir, I got tournaments to play and titles to win!’
So many surgeries“The years passed, the injuries kept coming but the titles also started coming. The relentless work had paid off and from that point there was no looking back… dream(s) of that young foolish boy came true… and then some!”
Edin is in a relationship with B.C. women’s fours skip Kayla MacMillan, and has coached her teams over the past few years.
He has also coached Japan’s Sayaka Yoshimura foursome.
Ansis Ventins-World CurlingREAD MORE:
