12 fantastic Vasaloppet achievements from 2022 – what will we see in 2023?

Anyone who completes a race is, of course, making a fantastic performance. We could have features on tens of thousands of participants, but we have selected these from 2022 to show what is possible and to share as inspiration and encouragement for others; read and enjoy!

12 fantastic Vasaloppet performances 2022:

(In no particular order.)

Lars and Bjarne – 23rd race on tandem skis

Lars Ruberg from Gråbo and Bjarne Emanuelsson from Kungsbacka skied their first Vasaloppet on tandem skis in 1984 – because of a bet… They had actually stopped skiing in tandem, but decided to do it one last time in 2022, with the goal of collecting 100,000 SEK for the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund. As usual, Lasse was in front with Bjarne behind. This year they finished with a time of 10.58.10 – completing their 23rd race on tandem skis!

Astrid Öyre Slind – fastest woman ever in Vasaloppet

Ahead of the race, everyone was talking about Lina, Britta, Ida and Marit. Instead, Norwegian Astrid Öyre Slind won Vasaloppet on her fifth attempt, with a new record time of 3.50.06. This is also the seventh fastest winning time in Vasaloppet ever (including all men’s class winners). For the Ski Classics season 2022/23, Astrid has changed teams and will compete for Björn Dählie’s new team ”Team Aker Daehli”.

Vasakvartetten in a wheelchair

Christoffer Lindhe from Ulricehamn lost both his legs and one arm in a train accident in 2006 and has since developed the foot prosthesis that is the basis of prosthesis company Lindhe Xtend, where he is the main owner and vice president. The company won Dagens Industri’s Dubbelutmaningen and entered a team in the Vasakvartetten running relay this year. Christoffer completed the last section, 19 km from Hökberg to Mora in a wheelchair; the first time someone in a wheelchair has participated in Vasakvartetten.

Emma Löfqvist skied all five 90-kilometre races

19-year-old Emma from Örebro skied all the winter’s five 90-km ski races, adding up to a total of 450 km. She completed Jubileumsvasan in 15.04.00 and Öppet Spår Monday in 7.33.27 – in other words, she moved twice as fast with 2020 equipment compared to 1920! In addition, she skied Öppet Spår Sunday, Nattvasan 90 and Vasaloppet. And during the summer she was in Cykelvasan 90, to boot!

Gösta Lönnelid – skied his 60th Vasaloppet
Gösta Lönnelid, who skis for the Norrbotten club Narkens IF, completed Öppet Spår Monday 2022 with a time of 7.08.44. With that, he finished his 60th race. The now 84-year-old Gösta lives in Mora and became the third Vasaloppet skier to complete the feat of 60 races. The other two are Bengt Eriksson from Sälen and Börje Karlsson from Landsbro. Gösta has skied 50 Vasaloppet and 10 Öppet Spår and he is registered for 2023 to ski his 61st race. Should we call the Guinness Book of Records now?

Sofia Lind – and everyone else who skied Jubileumsvasan

Between 1996 and 2006, Sofia Lind from Duved skied Vasaloppet eleven times, coming in as the best woman five times, and second five times. Last winter she skied Jubileumsvasan in equipment à la 1920s; she didn’t ski to win, but to honour the fact that women now have a place in sports. But she was the fastest woman once again. When Margit Nordin became the first woman to ski Vasaloppet in 1923, her time was 10.09.42. Sofia Lind completed Jubileumsvasan with the time 8.59.00 and while Margit had all the men ahead of her, Sofia only had 16 men ahead of her at the finish line. 115 of the 130 starters completed Jubileumsvasan. Erik Wickström was the fastest of all to reach the finish line. The race truly was ”once in a lifetime” and a definite highlight during Vasaloppet’s 100th anniversary. Hurray!

Payback after 18 years

In 2004, Susanna Lindberg from Falun reached the Mångsbodarna checkpoint after it had closed and she was not allowed to continue. A TV interview from the incident immortalised this and she had to live with it for 18 years… But she picked up her skis again and in 2022 she crossed the Vasaloppet finish line. Not only that, this summer she also completed Cykelvasan 90 and Ultravasan 90, meaning that she smashed her Vasaloppstrippeln goal. Talk about a comeback!

Cykelvasan on a tandem bike
Åsa Hellquist-Eriksson and husband Einar Hellquist from Uppsala cycled Cykelvasan 30 together on a tandem bicycle. Åsa has always wanted to participate in Vasaloppet but suffered a head injury in 2004 and has since had difficulty keeping her balance on her own. But with a tandem bike in Cykelvasan, the dream could come true! ”Finally,” was Åsa’s comment immediately after the finish under the classic portal in Mora.

Anders Aukland – 9th at the age of 49
Anders Aukland from Norway won Vasaloppet at the age of 31 in 2004. In 2022, he came 9th in Vasaloppet, just five seconds behind the winner. He has been among the top ten in Vasaloppet a total of 13 times. (Only Stanislav Rezác, 15 times, and Oskar Svärd, 14, have more places in the top ten.) In September 2022, Anders turned 50 and he is now preparing for another season in Ski Classics as part of Team Ragde Charge. On March 5, 2023, he will ski his 16th Vasaloppet!

Lennart has completed En Svensk Klassiker for 45 years

Admittedly, 73-year-old Lennart Johansson from Mariestad aborted his Öppet Spår Monday participation last winter. He broke off after half the race. But it was no disaster because he had skied Engelbrektsloppet a few weeks before, so when he cycled Vätternrundan in June, he completed his 45th En Svensk Klassiker, more than anyone else has managed. Four races every year for 45 years!! Since 1976! Lennart managed both Vansbrosimningen this summer and Lidingöloppet this autumn, so he’s now halfway through his 46th Klassiker. Every time he crosses the finish line now, he breaks a new record. In the Vasaloppet track, he can be spotted wearing the orange veteran number bib ”V627”. Since the start in 1971, over 100,000 diligent exercisers and enthusiasts have completed one of the En Svensk Klassiker variants; if you don’t want to take on the full-length version, there are half classics, short classics and girls’ classics to choose from.

”Group 8” in Tjejvasan
The 35th Tjejvasan will take place in the winter of 2023. Eight very impressive women have actually skied the race every year since the start in 1988: Anna-Lena Karlsson, Borlänge; Maj-Britt Flood, Mora; Ingegerd Karlsson, Berghem; Margareta Östensson Lindblom, Falun; Margareta Löfqvist, Västerås; Marianne Andersson, Mora; Sonja Dahlström, Idre; Helen Östensson, Transtrand.

Emil Lindgren’s solo cycle in Cykelvasan
Cykelvasan 90 2022 was broadcast live on SVT for the first time, and it was a dramatic showdown. The men’s winner Emil Lindgren, Serneke Allebike CK, led the race alone for a long time. He was caught up with in Oxberg but broke ahead again after Hökberg, deciding the race with a duel on the final stretch – and taking home his second Cykelvasan victory.

Do you have tips for more fantastic Vasaloppet performances in 2022 or 2023 that are worthy of some extra attention? Contact media@vasaloppet.se