Fantastic performances from 2023 and the 100th Vasaloppet fully booked

They were young and old, they skied without poles, they skied back and forth, backwards, several times over, many races, with clothes and without. Joy and imagination are hallmarks of Vasaloppet’s Winter Week and 2023 was no exception – every finish was a victory! Welcome back in 2024 for the 100th Vasaloppet.
The greatness of Vasaloppet does, of course, lie in all our participants, and we are deeply impressed by their efforts again this year. Some compete against each other while others compete against themselves, as it should be. Here is a small summary of some fantastic performances in Vasaloppet’s Winter Week 2023.

Top 3 in 2 races: Emilie Fleten came first in Vasaloppet and third in Tjejvasan. Ida Dahl came first in Tjejvasan and third in Vasaloppet.

9 out of 10: Emil Persson has won 9 out of 10 Ski Classics races this season and with his Vasaloppet victory he also secured his Ski Classics win. Double congratulations! (”Mora-Nisse” won Vasaloppet 9 times out of 10…)

No records, but still fast: The Vasaloppet winning times these last three years have been the three fastest in the race’s history, both on the men’s and women’s side. Emil Persson’s 3.37.43 and Emilie Fleten’s 4.04.08 are the third fastest winning times. Ida Dahl’s winning time in Tjejvasan was also the third fastest ever.

Best World Championship medallist 2023: Astrid Öyre Slind, Norway, skiathlon World Championship bronze (wearing shorts), relay World Championship gold, and 5th place in Vasaloppet.

Second best World Championship medallist 2023: Madelene Nord, Mora, dog skijoring World Championship gold and 45th place in Vasaloppet (sans dog), 4.49.02.

1,557 men and 144 women received performance medals in Vasaloppet 2023. Those who finish within the winning time plus 50 percent receive a performance medal. The medal time was 5.26.35 for men and 6.06.12 for women.

Best Dalarna woman in Vasaloppet: Frida Erkers, Mora, 16th, 4.26.29.

Best Dalarna man in Vasaloppet, best 16-year-old in Vasaloppet and best former five-time Ungdomsvasan winner: Alvar Myhlback, Bjursås, 8th, 3.38.00.

Best 50-year-old, man: Anders Aukland, Norway, 28th, 3.43.41. (Stanislav Rezác, Czech Republic, who turns 50 in April, came 58th, 3.49.23.)

Best 50-year-old, woman: Jill Nordby, Norway, 63rd, 5.10.02.

Best (and Vasaloppet’s first ever) backwards skier: Robin Bryntesson, 9.32.28, raising money for ambulances for Ukraine.

Best Petter Northug Jr: Petter Northug Jr, 48th, 3.47.59.

Same best time: Hanna Lodin finished 9th in Vasaloppet with a time of 4.18.16, which was exactly the same time as when she last completed Vasaloppet (2021).

Time required to be in the top 100 in Vasaloppet:
Men: 3.58.39
Women: 5.40.48

Time required to be in the top 1000 in Vasaloppet:
Men: 5.02.15
Women: 9.11.51

Best non-Swedish/non-Norwegian man: Jan Srail, Czech Republic, 23rd, 3.41.45. (18 of the top 100 men came from a country other than Sweden or Norway.)

Best non-Swedish/non-Norwegian woman: Kati Roivas, Finland, 8th, 4.14.05. (24 of the top 100 women came from a country other than Sweden or Norway.)

Best birthday: Five people who completed Vasaloppet also turned 50 that same day. Congratulations!

New veterans: As many as 45 participants completed their 30th 90-kilometre race during the Winter Week (one race per year may be counted) and they can now call themselves Vasaloppet veterans and, if they wish, ski with orange number bibs in future races. A total of 1,209 people have now become Vasaloppet veterans.

The following veterans skied their 50th or more race: Olle Viklund, Tullinge, Lars-Erik Persson, Luleå, Hans Bertschi, Switzerland, Arvid Galborgen, Ed, and Bent Galborgen, Norway (50th race), Stig Liljeström, Vallentuna (51st), Vidar Löfving, Tibro and Stig Ericsson, Åskloster (52nd), Gunnar Olsson, Borlänge and Jörgen Wallin, Säter (53rd), Håkan Mossberg, Kopparberg and Erik Berglund, Viksjöfors (54th race!).

Debutant born in 1951: Ingrid Westerlund, Arjeplog, has skied a lot but never raced in the Vasaloppet Arena before. But at the age of 72 she skied Vasaloppet for the first time, finishing with a time of 8.59.20. (This first-timer came third in the D70 age group, out of the six ladies who came to the start.)

Heaviest extra weight: SVT’s Adam Karlsson skied the whole Vasaloppet with TV camera equipment weighing upwards of 15 kg – in an eleven-hour broadcast. It was Adam’s tenth race this year!

Tandem brothers: Lars Nylund, Stockholm, 8.45.19, and Erik Nylund, Sollentuna,  8.45.20, skied the entire Vasaloppet together on a pair of tandem skis. From their times, you can tell who was in front on the skis…

New knees: Carina Hammarstrand, Munka Ljungby, had a pair of original knees that participated in 192 races in the Vasaloppet Arena over the years. Her two new knees, which she received in November, made their debut this year, and she completed three races, including Vasaloppet. In 2024, Carina aims to reach 200 finish lines.

Many races:
Mona Nilsson, Örnsköldsvik, completed eight races, including three 90 km races, for a total of 420 km.

Lars-Åke Dickfors, Avesta, who did not participate in Tjejvasan, also completed eight races, for a total of 400 km.

Lady without poles: Sandra Andersson, Skara, completed Öppet Spår Monday (freestyle) without poles (due to complications from a traffic accident), finishing in 7:32:12.

Man without poles: Joshua Bender, Kolsva, completed Vasaloppet (classic style) without ski poles, finishing in 10.37.53.

Round-trip skier: Rickard Pettersson Bredin, Njurunda, completed Vasaloppet in 6:09:42. Afterwards, he waited for everyone else to finish, and then he skied back to Sälen where he had parked his car.

Shirtless skier: Luca Thomsen, Denmark, completed Vasaloppet shirtless (except his number bib), with a time of 10:58:29.

Seventh victory: Oskar Svärd has won Vasaloppet three times. This year, he also won the Swedish Armed Forces’ Försvarsmaktsvasan (which was held in conjunction with Öppet Spår Sunday) for the fourth time, making a total of seven victories. In addition, he is the manager of Team Eksjöhus, so he had his hands full during the week.

Whole family with an 11-year-old skier: The Thunberg family from Smålandsstenar, consisting of mother, father, and three sons, completed Stafettvasan together. Eleven is the minimum age for participating in Stafettvasan, and 11-year-old Sixten completed the section between Hökberg and Eldris, while mother Ida brought the team to the finish line on the final section. They finished with a time of 5:54:46, in 207th place.

Ski wedding: Seven couples got married in Mora church’s ski-in wedding ceremony after the finish line.