USA men score ‘statement’ curling upset in huge boost to medal-round push

How Swede it must feel for the American curling team at the Olympics. 

Team USA defeated the defending gold medal winners, Sweden, on Sunday in an 8-5 victory that helped put the Americans into a tie for third with a 4-2 record. 

The top four teams advance to the medal round

The United States also defeated Norway in its second game of the day, but the win over the Swedes was a “statement” win, as broadcasters called it during the event. 

Daniel Casper of the United States in action with Aidan Oldenburg and Benjamin Richardson during their match against Sweden. REUTERS

“We know all of these teams are really good. We know we can beat any of these teams, and we’re here to win,” American curler Ben Richardson said, according to NBCOlympics.com. “That’s been our goal the whole week. Thankfully, we’ve gotten some wins under our belt now.”

The American team, which has four players all under the age of 27, is the youngest men’s team in the tournament.

The Swedes are the most veteran team in curling at this year’s Olympics competition, making the win that much more impressive.

The United States took its first lead in the fourth end after taking advantage of a Swedish error that saw Niklas Edin throw the rock through the house on an attempted takeout. 

The miscue set up New York native Danny Casper to draw to the button and put the Americans up 4-2. 

The Americans led the rest of the way and toppled the reigning gold medalists. 

The United States finished with 39 takeouts and shot 84 percent as a team. 

2026 WINTER OLYMPICS

• See today’s Olympics schedule and medal count
• US-born Chinese Olympian slams organizers for not rearranging events around her schedule
• American Jordan Stolz wins second straight speed skating gold in Olympic record time
• Lindsey Vonn returning to US after revealing fourth surgery ‘went well’
• Canadian curler fires back at Sweden after cheating accusations as drama explodes

Team USA looked as though they would cruise to another win in the second game against Norway, before the Norwegians forced a comeback and tied the game 8-8 going into the 10th end. 

Casper helped the United States get two points in the 10th to pull off the win. 

The American curlers are off to the best start the country has had at the event in the Olympics since 2006, when the men had gone 5-1 through six games. 

Daniel Casper and Ben Richardson of Team United States compete during the Round Robin match between Team United States and Team Sweden on day nine of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games. Getty Images

They went on to win bronze that year. 

The U.S. last won a medal in men’s curling back in 2018 when it won the gold in PyeongChang. 

The Americans will now have a day off before getting back on the ice. 

“It’s going to feel great to have a day off,” Casper said. “The day off is going to feel amazing. We’re going to be confident going into the next games. Just stretch and keep on keeping on, and we’re just going to keep getting better.”

The American men play again on Tuesday at 3:05 a.m. against China.