By Kevin Snow, European curling writer
For the first time since 2019, Sweden took home gold in both the men’s and women’s competitions at the European Curling Championships that concluded Saturday in Lohja, Finland.
Skip Niklas Edin led the men’s side to a 5-4 extra-end triumph over Yannick Schwaller and Switzerland, while Anna Hasselborg’s squad defeated Scotland by a 7-5 count.
The win was the eighth European title of Edin’s career, and the third for Hasselborg.
MEN
Edin’s team finished the round-robin in fourth place with a record of 6-3. That set them up for a semifinal battle with Scotland and Bruce Mouat, a rematch of the 2022 Olympic gold medal game. Mouat’s team finished atop the standings with a perfect 9-0 record, running their record to 22-1 over their last three events. However, history repeated itself as Edin came out on top just like in 2022, moving on to the final with an 8-5 victory.
Switzerland finished second (7-2) in the round-robin, and they faced third-place Italy (6-3), skipped by Joël Retornaz, in the other semifinal. Italy had a 7-6 lead in the 10th end, but Switzerland’s Benoît Schwarz-van Berkel scored two on their final shot to seal the 8-7 win.
Scotland took home the men’s bronze medal with a 9-3 win over Italy on Friday that ended in handshakes after the eighth end.
The top eight teams in the 12-team men’s bracket have now punched their ticket to the 2026 World Men’s Curling Championship that will take place March 27-April 4 in Ogden City, Utah: Sweden, Switzerland, Scotland, Czechia, Germany, Italy, Norway and Poland.
WOMEN
Sweden was the class of the women’s bracket with an 8-1 record in round-robin play. That lined them up to face fourth-place Norway (5-4) in the semis. Sweden scored three in the ninth end and held on late to move on to the final with a 7-6 win.
Thursday’s other semifinal match featured second-place Switzerland (6-3) and Scotland, who finished in third with a record of 5-4. Scotland’s Rebecca Morrison broke a 3-3 tie when she scored two in the sixth to give the Scots a 5-3 lead. A steal of two in the eighth gave them a 7-3 lead, and they would eventually lock the game down by a final score of 8-5.
The gold medal game was a low-scoring contest early on, with the score deadlocked at 1-1 after the fourth. Hasselborg broke the tie with a pair in the fifth, and Scotland’s Morrison countered to score two on a takeout in the sixth to bring the game back to even. Sweden retook the lead with two in the seventh and added two more in the ninth to make it 7-4. Scotland was limited to a single in the 10th.
“This means a lot to be on the top of the podium again. The way we’re playing right now, it’s nice to win like that and get that medal, as proof of what we’re doing right now,” Hasselborg told reporters after the game. “It shows that we can play at this level in the most important games.”
Switzerland doubled up Norway with an 8-4 win to take home the bronze medal.
The top seven teams in the 10-team women’s bracket have now qualified for the 2026 World Women’s Curling Championship set for Calgary from March 14-22: Sweden, Scotland, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and Türkiye.
The final two spots in the men’s and women’s competitions at the 2026 Winter Olympics are up for grabs starting Friday at the Olympic Qualification Event in Kelowna, B.C. The tournament concludes on Dec. 18.
On the women’s side, the eight countries vying for the coveted final two spots are: Australia, Czechia, Estonia, Germany, Japan, Norway, Türkiye and the United States.
They will look to join the eight nations that have already qualified: Italy (host country), Canada, Switzerland, Korea, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain (Scotland) and China.
For the men, the following eight countries will be looking to leave Kelowna as one of the two remaining countries looking to make travel plans to Italy in February: China, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland and the United States
The list of eight countries already qualified in the men’s competition includes: Italy (host country), Great Britain (Scotland), Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Czechia.
All curling at the 2026 Winter Olympics will take place at Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio, with the men’s round-robin beginning on Feb. 11 and concluding ahead of the semifinals on Feb. 19. The women's round-robin gets underway on Feb. 12 and wraps up on Feb. 19. The women's semifinals are set for Feb. 20.
The men's bronze medal game will take place on Friday, Feb. 20, and the gold medal game will be played on Saturday, Feb. 21.
The women's bronze medal game is on Saturday, Feb. 21, and the gold medal will be decided on Sunday, Feb. 22.
