For those familiar with curling, mentioning Sweden's Niklas Edin will certainly be no stranger. The 36-year-old "Elder of the Four Dynasties" finally won a gold medal of his own on February 19. At the award ceremony after the "Ice Cube" final on the 19th, he also smiled the most among the Swedish team members.
Looking back at captain Edin's path to the Olympics, it can explain why this Swedish team will be led by him. Of course, "seniority" is one of the reasons, but he also seems to have a calmer and calmer mentality and strategy to coordinate the situation of the game. In the past few years, it is this Swedish men's team led by Edin that has achieved repeated successes. For example, they have won the World Championships for three consecutive years. In the first three Winter Olympic Games, the Swedish men's team was one step at a time, winning the fourth, third and second places respectively... It wasn't until February 19 that they finally reached the podium in first place.
Edin does not shy away from his "ambitions" for the gold medal. He told reporters that after losing the final of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, he was determined to reach the highest podium in Beijing, and the dream of winning the "Ice Cube" in Beijing also made him "much happier than expected." Yeah, this day Edin waited a long time. However, Edin is not as "flawless" as one might see it – he has undergone 10 surgeries, including back surgery, over the past 10 years. Despite injuries and multiple surgeries, he still spends more than 1,000 hours a year training. Not only that, but he also did more mental and theoretical training than his teammates. "At the beginning, I said I wanted to win more than any curler." He said.
"Be the best person when it matters most." This is what Edin once said. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, he honored his philosophy of life. Bless this "veteran", and also wish him to continue to keep his dreams in the days to come, "to be the best person".