With golden monkey off his back, curler Edin out to enjoy Milano Cortina

As he prepares for his fifth Olympics, curler Niklas Edin finally has the freedom to savour the experience of competing at the Winter Games rather than being haunted, as he once was, by the pursuit of gold.

Over more than a decade, the Swedish skip climbed the podium step-by-step over four agonising Olympic cycles, finishing fourth at Vancouver 2010, taking bronze in Sochi in 2014 and silver at Pyeongchang 2018.

Then came Beijing almost four years ago, where at last he and his team struck gold and the elusive medal was his, lifting a weight off his shoulders heading into next year's Milano Cortina Olympics.

"In a small sport like curling, at the end of the day it's all about winning the Olympics. If you can do that, you've had a successful career. And if you can't, there's a shadow over all of the rest," Edin told Reuters by video call.

"We have had some really nice years after winning the Olympics, enjoying playing, no pressure at all. We feel now that we can go in and try to defend that title, though we might not be favourites on paper anymore. Other teams have caught up.

"But we know what we can do. It's going to be a tough battle, but we will try to defend that title and at the same time enjoy the Olympics, instead of feeling like the only important thing is winning. It's going to be nice, actually."

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Edin is under no illusions about the task ahead when it comes to defending the gold medal, with his rink far from favourites after finishing the 2024-25 season ranked 13th in the world.

They will have a better idea of where they stand when they compete with some of Europe's other top teams at the November 22-29 European Curling Championships in Finland, which serves as an Olympic dress rehearsal.

"The Europeans before an Olympics are the last test and we want to be in really good form," Edin said.

"If we can win, it's going to send a vibe to the other teams, telling them that 'we're the team to beat'."

Edin said, however, that he would not read too much into Sweden's results in Lohja, pointing to their fifth-placed finish at the same venue in 2024.

"We played there last year. The ice conditions were very frosty and very difficult. It's going to be nothing like the Olympics. That makes it a little tricky," he added.

"If we don't do well, we don't want it to mess with our minds going into the Olympics, where it's a completely different ice maker, a completely different venue."

'HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION'

Along with his three Olympic medals, Edin has won seven world championships, but his career has been just as injury-riddled as it has been successful, leading to surgeries on his back, elbow, shoulder, knee and ankle in the past decade.

The 40-year-old said he was still dealing with back pain but was hopeful of being fully fit in time for the Games, rating himself "70% or so but headed the right direction" at the moment.

"Curling-wise, it feels pretty good," he said. "It's the fast movements, the explosiveness out of the hack and things like that I'm still lacking in a little bit, but I'm working on it. I think in February, I'll be good."

When he is not on the ice, Edin can often be found at a pool table, and he credited the cue sport with helping him stay sharp mentally while also improving his curling game.

"The decisions you make while playing pool play out in a split second, as you hit the ball or strike the cue ball," he added.

"In curling, you have time to mess things up during your slide or delivery. So I think playing pool sort of prepares me mentally more than anything, to be really focused on what I'm supposed to do, have the plan ready, then fully relax and just let it happen." REUTERS