PeakDash

AT this year's Winter Olympics, Sweden produced two gold medal-winning performances. Pernilla Wiberg won an individual gold in the women's combined alpine skiing event, but the crowning moment for Sweden came in the ice hockey where the nation's puck-masters slapped their way to victory against Canada after a penalty shoot-out.

The winning penalty at Lillehammer, clinching Sweden's first Olympic ice hockey gold, was scored by Peter Forsberg, one of the stars of the tournament who was subsequently snapped up by the Quebec Nordiques on a contract reportedly worth US$10 million.

But Sweden, the world champions in 1991 and 1992, failed to capture a third world championship last month. They went out in the semi-final to eventual champions Canada, although a 7-2 victory against the United States clinched third place for the Swedes.

Wiberg, the Olympic giant-slalom champion at Albertville two years ago, finished 0.13 seconds ahead of Switzerland's Vreni Schneider in the combined event.

However, it was Schneider who took the honours in the alpine World Cup later in the season after Wiberg was sidelined as the result of a spectacular crash during the women's downhill in Vail, Colorado, while second to Schneider in the standings.

In tennis, there was plenty for Swedish fans to shout about although, by the high standards set in previous years, few Swedish players will have been satisfied with their season.

Stefan Edberg broke an eight-month win drought with a victory at the Qatar Open in January, beating Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-2 in the final.

''This win is a relief to me because I have had a problem winning tournaments,'' Edberg said at the time.

But it is a problem that still seems to haunt him. In the last 12 months, Edberg has been a beaten finalist on three occasions and has lost four semi-finals - not bad going by most players' standards, but a poor season for the former world number one.

In Hong Kong, at the Marlboro Championships, it was Dutchman Richard Krajicek whose awesome serve prevented Edberg from taking the title. At the ATP Championship in Mason, Ohio, and the Waldbaum Hamlet Cup in New York, it was Michael Chang.

At the Swiss indoor tournament in Basle and the Munich Grand Slam, it was Michael Stich of Germany who stole Edberg's thunder; in the Paris Open, it was Croat Goran Ivanisevic; and in the Champions Cup tournament at Indian Wells, it was world number one Pete Sampras who took the spotlight away from him.

Magnus Gustafsson reached three finals during the same period, beating Stich in the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, but going down to Spaniard Carlos Costa in the Dutch Open and Sampras in the European Community championship.

Michael Pernfors won the Canadian Open last summer but has had a lean spell since.

But all eyes in the country are turning to the United States where Tommy Svensson's soccer players - who qualified with Bulgaria, at the expense of France and Austria - take on Cameroon, Russia and Brazil in what is probably the toughest group of the World Cup first round.

Svensson coached Sweden to fourth place in the 1992 European Championships and has high hopes of success in the United States.

The Swedes open their campaign against Cameroon, the surprise package of the 1990 World Cup,on June 19.

Victory against them and Russia would be enough to see Sweden into the next round and take the pressure of their players for their final first round match against tournament favourites Brazil.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51krrPAyJyjnmdna4ZzfY6sppyblad6p63NrGShmaaaeqm1xqFkoaegmsA%3D