Woman Olympic finalist plays in Swedish men’s league

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – The goalie in Sweden’s silver
medal-winning Olympic team will become the first woman to play
in a senior men’s league game this week.

Kim Martin, 19, will play for Malmo Redhawks in the men’s
second division on Wednesday against Bofors.

In the Turin Olympics semi-final against the U.S., Martin
saved 37 of 39 shots and then stonewalled four American
shooters in a penalty shootout. The Swedes lost to Canada in
the final.

“Kim Martin has trained with us once a week for nearly the
entire year and is well deserving of this chance,” Malmo coach
Lars Bergstrom said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Naturally this is also good PR and a boost for Swedish
women’s hockey going forward. But it is more than that.

“We think … she deserves this chance. She is just that
good.”