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Niklas Edin executes arguably the greatest shot in curling history. (Some explanation in comments)
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View Reddit by riddler1225 – View Source
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Niklas Edin executes arguably the greatest shot in curling history. (Some explanation in comments)
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View Reddit by riddler1225 – View Source
For the uninitiated, a normal curling shot completes ~3-4 rotations down the sheet. This was ~45 rotations or so before impact.
A commentator on a [different broadcast](https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1643657362094293015) states that the red rock isn’t going to go anywhere after being bumped. With a normal rotation, he was right, the rock would’ve bumped into the yellow and stopped. But instead the counter spin created by the initial collision enabled the red rock to spin off the yellow rock.
This technique is not taught. (In fact we explicitly teach new curlers not to do this)
Curlers learn 3-4 rotations so they can produce consistent results and understand where their rock will end up.
The extra friction from additional rotation throws all that out the window. It’s just not a calculable way to throw a rock and get a result. Unless you’re Team Edin.
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Game situation:
10th end (final round of play unless tied)
Final shot
Norway 7
Sweden 5
Sweden must score 2 points to continue play.
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Edit: Added game situation for context.
Edit 2: Linked to different broadcast
Wow, that shot was absolutely insane! I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years of watching curling. Niklas Edin is an absolute legend and deserves all the praise he’s getting for that amazing feat.
I think this shot by Brad Gushue was better in 2015 to win against alberta. The commentator is even talking shit as he’s throwing it saying there’s zero chance.
https://youtu.be/42OQ9wr336A
This has the same vibe as the nascar driver that did the wallride
Who won in extras?
i know Edin’s team practices this shot bc i’m pretty sure eriksson attempted this at some other event, but to absolutely nail the line and weight call on this blows my mind. absolutely the greatest shot i’ve ever seen in curling.
I think one of the announcers had an orgasm there.
How is sweeping ice an Olympic sport and dodgeball isn’t?
For reference after thinking about this:
It’s already basically a miracle to even hit the red rock in the first place – at all. He attempt the supper fast spin that is basically never used, because it’s not very predictable.
But on top of that, he has to hit it precisely enough to both move the red rock enough, which requires hitting it as thinly as possible, and also squarely enough for the shooter to stop (which it barely does (by probably something like a millimetre).
In short, if he had not even the slightest hair less of the red stone, his one stone would have travelled too far. At the same time, he hit so much of the rock that the professional commentators were completely surprised that it moved the red rock enough.
There was probably a millimetre wide spot on the red rock that he had to hit, and he hit it using a very rare, desperation technique. The shot probably doesn’t even work unless the crazy spin is absolutely right.
My vote for best of all time: Sandra Schmirler in 1997
https://youtu.be/cM67XJS7yM8
I mean I have no idea how difficult it is for curling, but couldn’t he just try to throw it such that it goes to the center of the bulls eye? Instead of this crazy curl? You just have to be closer to the middle right?
Forgive me… I’m not sure I understand what makes this shot so special? ELI5
Ok, so I don’t think people understand just how crazy this shot is. Edin does not just one but TWO things that are basically never done in curling shots to make this work.
First: the obvious spin. Generally speaking you put about 3 rotations worth of spin to get a rock to curl, Edin’s rock had at least 45 that I could tell. He needed this spin so that when his rock made contact with the red rock it imparted some of the rotation of the shot rock to kick the red rock more sideways instead of back into his other yellow rock. Without this spin there’s almost no way for him to move the red rock without also moving his yellow rock out as well.
Now generally, when you put too much spin on a rock it will not curl very much if at all, at least until it is close to stopping. This is typically not something you want in curling as a rock that is curling will travel in an arc. That arc can be adjusted with correct sweeping giving you much more control over where your rock ends up, rather than a rock that travels in a straight line.
But wait a minute, if this rock isn’t curling how could it possibly get by the guards (the 2 rocks in front of the rings)?
That brings me to the second crazy thing; Edin DELIBERATELY turns the rock on his release, changing the angle that the rock is traveling. Curling is very much a game of accuracy so great effort is made to keep the angle you kick out of the hack (rubber backstop embedded in the ice) lined up with the direction that you release the rock for it to initially travel. Edin does not do this, he instead deflects the rock onto a new angle when he puts the spin on it. Basically, instead of sliding out and releasing the rock in a straight line like this:
He threw the rock with a redirect like this:
/
Turning a rock on a release is typically a mistake and results in a missed shot, no one ever does it on purpose. At least until now.
If you don’t believe that this is what he did watch carefully the speed at which the rock crossed the center line; a rock that is curling will appear to accelerate in a horizontal direction, Edin’s rock moved across center at a near constant speed.
It’s not just that this was a hard shot that he made, Edin did things in this shot that basically no-one in high level curling is doing. It was always possible to do these things but no one was trying because they were considered too hard or too unreliable. But now there’s an example or someone actually using these things to effect, it will no doubt inspire others to practice these kinds of previously unheard-of shots.
This could fundamentally change the game of curling.