Who is Oskar Eriksson?
The star player of the Swedish national team is Oskar Eriksson. He is almost thirty-five years old, born under the sign of Gemini, and comes from the city of Karlstad. It will soon be thirty years since he first stepped onto the curling ice. He became a true curler and has experienced a lot in his career. He has four Olympic medals, including the most valuable one, and has won the World Championships seven times and the European Championships eight times. The Czechs first met Oskar in 2008 at the World Junior Championships, and then many times after that. Oskar has a pretty good record against the Czechs, with eighteen wins and only three losses. Many years ago, I learned from my Swedish friends that he earned the nickname "Professor Eriksson" as a junior for his efforts to unravel all the mysteries of curling.
Usually, the curling skip is at the center of attention, and the other players on the team tend to help build their captain's star image. In recent days, however, Oskar Eriksson has become the somewhat unwanted front man of his team. The reason for this is the escalation of the "finger" scandal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Did the Swedes plan the whole thing to "explode" at the Olympics? Did they wait for this moment because their hopes for a good result were gradually fading, not only in the match against Canada, but also in the entire tournament? These are paraphrased quotes from lengthy discussion forums where the whole "story" is being rehashed. I don't think Oscar is a provocateur who carefully planned every detail to disgrace the Canadian curling stars. I only noticed a legitimate warning about the opponent's players not following the rules, after which Marc Kennedy lost control of his behaviour and committed a foul for which he should probably have been ejected from the match. In the past, we have seen various cases in curling that were complicated and left a bitter taste. For example, the Italian players' admission, after the fact and based on a warning, that they had lit stones in their match against Denmark at the Olympic qualifiers in Plzeň in 2017. However, never before has a violation of the rules reached the stage where the entire structure of the "Spirit of Curling" is shaken and a simple and decisive solution is not at hand.
It seems that times have changed, circumstances are different, curling has evolved and transformed, and these facts need to be addressed, which is a task for the World Curling Federation. For example, by adjusting the powers of referees and investing in technological equipment that allows for the enforcement of all rules. Oskar simply fulfilled his duty as a curler and gave all of us curlers the task of protecting our sport. For that, he deserves our thanks.