People are trying to project their xenophobia on Swedes yet the Swedes themselves have rejected xenophobia.
Plenty of Americans would not be good with the media in Sweden either.
In my experience, most city marathons want top tier East Africans. Several years ago I was listening to the mayor of Baltimore promoting the Baltimore marathon by saying they were able to get a commitment from some 2:10 Kenyans.
Years ago I read a story about a race in Italy. A local won the race, but the public and the media reacted derisively by saying "He only won because there were no Kenyans". In other words, the Italians want to see their top runners beat the East Africans in order to prove their worth.
Most New yorkers are not losing any sleep because Americans do not win. They simply like the prestige of having a world class marathon. I think the Swedes are also eager to make their race a world class race. Every city wants prestige. They do not want sore losers.
People want to see their heroes challenge the East Africans and beat them. Did you see how excited the crowd in Oregon was when Mary Cain left the Kenyans chasing her over the last 100m?
People want their heroes to stand up to the best. Most don't want losers who can only win against mediocre talent. This the whole "I am taking my ball home because I cannot win" syndrome.