Sweden’s Niklas Edin, an Olympic gold, silver and bronze medalist and eight-time world champion, has retired from Olympic-level curling.
Edin, 40, called it “a tough and scary decision” in a social media post.
“To quit while ahead and have time to explore what else is out there!” the post read.
Edin still hopes to compete in the new Rock League, a professional circuit where players from different countries can play on the same team. The league’s first season was in April and second season is scheduled for early 2027.
Edin was 12 when the Sweden women’s team won bronze in the curling’s return to the Olympics in 1998, which sparked his interest in the sport.
In his retirement post, Edin remembered a curling academy teacher asking him in 2003 about long-term goals.
“Win 5 World Championships at skip, the record is 4!” the post read. “The teacher prob rolled his eyes at that point but also saw a drive and motivation that was through the roof. 🙄🤔 The 7 years to come the boy lived, breathed, ate and s—- curling 365 days a year.”
Edin won the first of his record eight world titles in 2013 and the first of three consecutive Olympic medals in 2014 (bronze).
At the 2018 PyeongChang Games, Edin and Sweden were upset by a John Shuster-led U.S. team in the gold-medal game after Shuster scored five with a double take-out in the eighth end.
In 2022, Edin beat Bruce Mouat’s Great Britain to complete his medal collection with Sweden’s first Olympic men’s title in the sport.
In his fifth and final Olympics this past February, Edin’s Sweden went 2-7 in round-robin, missing the playoffs while grabbing headlines as Swede Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian Marc Kennedy of an illegal double touch.
Edin rebounded to win an eighth world title in April, beating Shuster in the semifinals and Canada (with different players than in the Olympics) in the final.
In April 2025, Edin suggested he underwent 15 surgeries in his life. During his curling career, he dealt with serious back issues, elbow problems and a left shoulder surgery with a nine-month recovery process.
“Doctors told him to quit sports and stop training or a wheelchair would be waiting,” Edin’s retirement post read. “No sir, I got tournaments to play and titles to win! 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!”
NBC Olympic research contributed to this report.
