Olle Meijer and Ida Nilsson won Ultravasan 90 2023

The start of Ultravasan 90 at 05:00 on Saturday morning in Berga by, Sälen, saw the field covered in mist with a temperature of 9 degrees Celsius. However, that mist would lift and the sun would emerge, leading to a perfect day for long-distance running.

This was the first year that the ultrarunners ascended the first uphill slope in Sälen, reaching Vasaloppet’s highest point at 528 metres above sea level, just like the skiers in winter. A new route to the first checkpoint in Smågan was also introduced. Unfortunately, this caused the leading group of 14 runners to take a wrong turn.

Ultravasan 90 Men
Four runners were first to reach the highest point after 15 minutes of running: last year’s third-place finisher Olle Meijer, along with three former winners; Sébastien Spehler from France, Elov Olsson, and Viktor Stenqvist.

Approximately five kilometres after the start, the first 13 male runners and one female runner mistakenly continued straight on a gravel road instead of taking a 90-degree turn onto a trail. They ran for about two kilometres to a turning point before realizing their mistake and retracing their steps.

Vasaloppet’s Sport Manager Tommy Höglund explains what happened:
”The wrong turn occurred on the new route for this year, about five kilometres after the start of Ultravasan 90. It was a junction that turned out to be inadequately marked. There were markers, but there was no barrier. We can only apologize for what happened.”

Due to this detour, ”Mr. Ultravasan” Jonas Buud (who didn’t take the wrong turn) led the way in Smågan, but Edvin Claesson won the first sprint prize in Mångsbodarna, ahead of Buud by 46 seconds. The runners who went off course began to catch up, but the one with most significant progress – last year’s winner Viktor Stenqvist – was still six minutes behind the leader in Mångsbodarna.

Jonas Buud held the lead in Risberg, followed by Olle Meijer and Sébastien Spehler two minutes behind. Apparently unaffected by the detour and extra distance, Meijer and Spehler overtook Buud. By the halfway point at Evertsberg, Meijer secured the hill prize, two seconds ahead of Spehler. They were about five minutes ahead of Elov Olsson, Mikael Ekvall, and Polish runner Andrzej Piotrowski. The top seven runners in Evertsberg were all ones who had taken the wrong route at the beginning of the race. However, Jonas Buud, who was eighth, had to abort his race in Evertsberg due to injury concerns.

Last year, Olle Meijer ran his first Ultravasan 90 and lost his lead after Evertsberg, finishing third. However, this year he extended his lead. At the Oxberg checkpoint, 64 km into the race, Meijer led by two minutes over Spehler, but then the Frenchman stopped multiple times. Piotrowski was in third place, trailing Meijer by six minutes.

Olle Meijer secured the final sprint prize in Hökberg, with 19 kilometres left to the finish line. Piotrowski was now in second place, and Elov Olsson was in third place as Spehler had withdrawn. Meijer’s lead remained unchallenged, and with a winning time of 6 hours, 46 minutes, and 13 seconds, he crossed the finish line 7 minutes and 20 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
”Yeah, it feels really good. It was a long day today, nearly 97 kilometres. I got a bit stressed at the time, but I kept an eye on the field and knew that those of us who were competing for the win were the ones who had taken the wrong turn. I respect Spehler, he’s won before, and last year I lost a lot of time after Evertsberg, but it helped my mental strength when I realized that I could keep up with him after he caught up with me,” said Olle Meijer after crossing the finish line.

”It was very tough around Oxberg and Hökberg because the sun was beating down, and it’s a challenging course there. At the same time, I got good reports that the others were falling behind. It felt reassuring but still incredibly tough to make it to the finish line.”

The feeling of coming onto the home stretch?
”Unbelievably satisfying, but mostly it was a relief to finally stop,” said Olle Meijer, who was participating in only his second ever ultramarathon.

Andrzej Piotrowski finished second, and Elov Olsson came in third.

Ultravasan 90 Women
Up to the highest point, Ida Nilsson only had 13 male runners ahead of her, and her lead in the women’s class was one minute ahead of Liselotte Hellsten and Sophia Sundberg.

In Smågan, there were seven runners within 30 seconds. Ida Nilsson was the only female runner who went off course along with the leading males. She arrived at Smågan in 21st place, over nine minutes behind the leader Sophia Sundberg.

Sofia Smedman led in Mångsbodarna. In Risberg, she was accompanied by Sophia Sundberg. Their lead was 1.22 ahead of Anna Hellström, who won in 2022. In fourth place was Caitriona Jennings from Ireland.

Sophia Sundberg was then in the lead but fell and hit her hip and knee. After four hours of running, she was the first to reach Evertsberg where she stopped and changed her shoes. Second-placed Sofia Smedman was one and a half minutes behind in Evertsberg.

Sophia Sundberg finished fourth in Ultravasan’s premiere in 2014 and had not run Ultravasan 90 since then. Now she was experiencing hip pain.

Ida Nilsson made the most progress at this stage and was soon in second place, 2.23 behind Sophia Sundberg in Oxberg and 1.08 in Hökberg. A few kilometres later, she took over the lead.

Ida Nilsson won Ultravasan 90 in 2017 and was second in 2018, and she now secured her second victory. Despite the detour, her final time was 7.23.52, with a winning margin of just over two minutes. She was very satisfied after crossing the finish line:
”I am very happy; I never thought it would work out with such a significant detour of four kilometres. That’s more than just a little mistake… It’s partially on me; you can’t just blame the fact that you’re following the pack.”

”When I realized how far behind I was, I thought ‘it’s never going to happen.’ I was 12 minutes behind, and I knew how strong they were. I didn’t believe, but I thought I’d push on and see what happens. The trail was narrow, and it was difficult to pass, but runners ahead were incredibly helpful and let us through. But then I hit a rough patch again when I wasn’t catching up. After Evertsberg, it’s mostly downhill, which is my strength, so I pushed on and made up quite a bit.”

The feeling at the finish line?
”Massively relieved, but it’s a bit frustrating that it became unnecessarily tough,” said Ida Nilsson, joyful with the winner’s garland around her neck.

Second-placed Sophia Sundberg almost stumbled at the finish line.
”I’m really pleased but also very tired. I’ve run with such pain. Ida truly deserves this, especially since she ran extra after the taking the wrong route. I was also close to going off course, but I turned back. Big congratulations to Ida; she’s fantastic. I didn’t have the strength to keep up when she passed by.”

Malin Barrulf repeated her third-place finish from 2021.

Ultravasan 45 Men
Ultravasan 45 started in Oxberg at 09:00. The winner of the past two years, Kristofer Låås, took the lead right from the start, just like last year. However, at the checkpoint in Oxberg after 16 kilometres, Kristofer was in second place, one minute behind Jesper Lundberg.

Jesper Lundberg pulled ahead and got the victory, also improving the record time by five minutes to 2.34.29.
”I experienced some cramping and wasn’t sure if I could hold on. I tried to get reports of what was happening behind me. But it still felt quite under control,” said Jesper Lundberg.

Kristofer Låås also broke the previous course record, securing the second position with a time of 2.34, just behind this year’s winner. Andreas Lundgård secured the third place.

Ultravasan 45 Women
Erica Lech won this year’s race ahead of Barbro Fjällstedt Oljans, who won last year.
”At the start line I heard ‘Jeppe’ say that everyone is in it to win, and I thought that’s what you have to do; you need to have that mindset. Barbro is strong in the woods; I couldn’t keep up there. But after that, it got easier, and that’s when I could push a little more. I wanted to hold back in the first 15 kilometres so I’d have some energy left to pick up the pace. The last five kilometres were tough. It turned out to be a dream race, actually,” said Erica Lech.

There was a new record time in the women’s Ultravasan 45 as well, 3.02.09. Erica Lech broke the previous record by 38 seconds:
”I tried to ignore it; towards the end I knew I was at the edge, with so little left that I thought I wouldn’t make it. It was magical to run on the home stretch; there isn’t much that’s better.”

Barbro Fjällstedt Oljans secured the second place this year, with Malin Gibrand coming in third.

Trailvasan 30 Men
Martin Nilsson surpassed the favourite to win and last year’s second-place finisher, David Nilsson, finishing two minutes faster than the 2022 winning time.
”I couldn’t believe it, I thought I would tire out at some point. Completely unbelievable,” said this year’s winner right after crossing the finish line.

David Nilsson secured second place, trailing the winner by nine minutes. David Lundström came in third.

Trailvasan 30 Women
Jenny Björnberg won Trailvasan 30 and became the first woman to finish the race in under two hours since its premiere last year.
”I made sure to position myself well at the beginning, not showing any signs of fatigue, and then I took the lead. I’ve tried to maintain a steady pace throughout the entire race. So, I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Jenny Björnberg.

The second place was secured by Petra Kindlund, with Johanna Widarsson Norbeck in third place.

RESULTS
Ultravasan 90 Men, 92 km, Sälen–Mora, 2023-08-19
1 Olle Meijer, (SWE) Högby IF 6.46.13
2 Andrzej Piotrowski, (POL) WKS Wawel Krakow 6.53.33
3 Elov Olsson, (SWE) Ockelbo SK, Hoka, Ockelbomaffian 6.58.46
4 Mikael Ekvall, (SWE) Strömstad löparklubb 7.06.20
5 Erik Anfält, (SWE) Örebro AIK 7.08.02
6 Sebastian Sundius, (SWE) IFK Mora 7.13.06
7 Viktor Stenqvist, (SWE) Billingen X-trail SC/Craft Run Team 7.14.04
8 Rasmus Gustafsson, (SWE) Team Minos SC 7.41.59
9 Erik Olofsson, (SWE) IF Mantra Sport 7.44.20
10 Oscar Olsson, (SWE) SK Glädjen 7.47.43

Sprint prizes Ultravasan 90 Men 2023
Mångsbodarna: Edvin Claesson, 1.54.41
Hill prize Evertsberg: Olle Meijer, 3.40.18
Hökberg: Olle Meijer, 6.08.00

Ultravasan 90 Women, 92 km, Sälen–Mora, 2023-08-19
1 Ida Nilsson, (SWE) Högby IF 7.23.54
2 Sophia Sundberg, (SWE) Keep Up RC 7.25.59
3 Malin Barrulf, (SWE) IFK Mora / Salomon Sverige 7.31.13
4 Anna Hellström, (SWE) Enebybergs IF 7.42.17
5 Sofia Smedman, (SWE) Billingen X-trail SC/Craft run team 7.50.09
6 Cajsa Berg, (SWE) Enhörna IF 7.51.15
7 Maria Saxvall, (SWE) Torsångs IF 8.09.57
8 Frida Södermark, (SWE) Tjalve FIF 8.10.42
9 Ebba Sigfridson, (SWE) Terrible Tuesday Triathlon 8.13.36
10 Petra Klevmar, (SWE) Umara SC 8.27.57

Sprint prizes Ultravasan 90 Women 2023
Mångsbodarna: Sofia Smedman, 2.05.56
Hill prize Evertsberg: Sophia Sundberg, 4.00.23
Hökberg: Sophia Sundberg, 5.57.11

Ultravasan 45 Men, 45 km, Oxberg–Mora, 2023-08-19
1 Jesper Lundberg, (SWE) Hunflens LS 2.34.29
2 Kristofer Låås, (SWE) Keep Up RC 2.37.03
3 Andreas Lundegård, (SWE) FK Studenterna 2.43.44
4 Isak Augustsson, (SWE) JA Skidservice 2.57.01
5 Björn Martinsson, (SWE) Vänersborgs AIK 3.04.57
6 Marcus Jansson, (SWE) Mölndals AIK/Team Bergspring by Arkitek 3.25.19
7 Jan-Erik Olsson, (SWE) Sellnäs IF 3.26.25
8 Warren Renkel, (GBR) Run Free Fell Runners 3.31.52
9 Thomas Bergman, (SWE) Gagnef IF 3.32.28
10 Erik Melakari, (SWE) Trångsund 3.33.20

Ultravasan 45 Women, 45 km, Oxberg–Mora, 2023-08-19
1 Erica Lech, (SWE) Örebro AIK 3.02.09
2 Barbro Fjällstedt Oljans, (SWE) Säter IF FIK 3.08.50
3 Malin Gibrand, (SWE) FK Studenterna 3.15.03
4 Monica Pihl, (SWE) Borås SK 3.39.34
5 Ingvild Aurdal, (NOR) Fetsund 3.40.29
6 Maja Stefansson, (SWE) Oxbergs IF 3.46.14
7 Tove Reymers, (FIN) Wisby Ultralöparförening 3.54.44
8 Elin Fallberg, (SWE) Mora 3.57.53
9 Linea Arlehed, (SWE) Sollerön 3.58.09
10 Knipnäs Malin Blomkvist, (SWE) Venjans AIK 4.00.26

Trailvasan 30 Men, 30 km, Oxberg–Mora, 2023-08-19
1 Martin Nilsson, (SWE) IFK Umeå 1.38.51
2 David Nilsson, (SWE) Högby IF 1.47.51
3 David Lundström, (SWE) Tisdagsklubben Örebro 1.54.02
4 John Lundström, (SWE) Tisdagsklubben Örebro 1.54.10
5 Andreas Mannberg, (SWE) Malungs IF 1.55.05
6 Mattias Argårds, (SWE) IFK Mora FIK 1.55.37
7 Anton Öhman, (SWE) Tisdagsklubben Örebro 1.57.11
8 Christoffer Lundgren Björnqvist, (SWE) Katrineholm SK Friidrott 1.57.40
9 Rikki Frederiksen, (DEN) Frederiksberg IF 1.59.13
10 Matthias Flade, (GER) SC Münchberg/new balance 2.01.20

Trailvasan 30 Women, 30 km, Oxberg–Mora, 2023-08-19
1 Jenny Björnberg, (SWE) Falu IK Friidrott 1.58.52
2 Petra Kindlund, (SWE) Runacademy IF 2.04.28
3 Johanna Widarsson Norbeck, (SWE) Örgryte IS / Team Löplabbet 2.15.17
4 Sigrid Andersson, (SWE) Hunflens Löparsällskap 2.23.04
5 Sofia Norgren, (SWE) Ludvika FFI 2.24.03
6 Jessica Imbert, (FRA) 2.25.50
7 Frida Kristiansson, (SWE) Malungs CK 2.27.50
8 Therese Persson, (SWE) 2.30.32
9 Emma Holfve, (SWE) Brudpiga RK 2.32.05
10 Åsa Synnerholm, (SWE) 2.33.20

All results
Start lists and results lists can be found here >

Kranskulla and Kransmas 2023
This year’s Kranskulla and Kransmas are Alice Larsson (Sälens IF) and Albin Gezelius (IFK Mora).

Medal times
All participants who finish Ultravasan 90, Ultravasan 45, Trailvasan 30, Trailvasan 10 and Vasastafetten receive a medal. A special achievement medal in Ultravasan 90 is awarded to those who finish within set medal times. The new medal times for 2023 are: For men, under 10 hours (9:59:59). For women, under 11 hours and 36 minutes (11:35:59).

Victory prizes
Winners of Ultravasan 90, in addition to a medal and victory garland, receive 60,000 SEK. Victory in Ultravasan 45 carries a prize of 15,000 SEK, and victory in Trailvasan 30 awards 10,000 SEK. Ultravasan 90 has sprint prizes in Mångsbodarna (5,000 SEK) and Hökberg (5,000 SEK), as well as a hill prize in Evertsberg (10,000 SEK). Vasastafetten winners will receive 15,000 SEK. The total prize sum for the runners on Saturday is 401,000 SEK.

Watch all finishes
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FACTS/Winners of Ultravasan 90, Ultravasan 45 and Trailvasan 30
Ultravasan 90, men
2014 Jonas Buud, IFK Mora FK (SWE), 6.02.03
2015 Jonas Buud, IFK Mora FK (SWE), 5.45.08 (Record time!)
2016 Jarle Risa, Undheim IL (NOR), 6.11.49
2017 Elov Olsson, Ockelbo SK (SWE), 6.07.37
2018 Fritjof Fagerlund, LK Roslagen (SWE), 6.01.56
2019 Jim Walmsley, Hoka One One (USA) 5.47.28
2020 Ultravasan was part of Hemmavasan, no winner was crowned
2021 Sébastien Spehler, Team Salomon (FRA), 6.09.45
2022 Viktor Stenqvist, Billingen X-trail Sports Club (SWE), 6.19.07
2023 Olle Meijer, Högby IF (SWE), 6.46.13

Ultravasan 90, women
2014 Holly Rush, Team Bath AC (GBR), 7.09.04
2015 Jasmin Nunige, Switzerland (SUI), 7.02.35
2016 Jasmin Nunige, Track Club Davos (SUI), 6.54.32
2017 Ida Nilsson, Högby IF (SWE), 6.51.26
2018 Alexandra Morozova, Russia (RUS), 6.43.55 (Record time!)
2019 Alexandra Morozova, Ural (RUS) 7.11.07
2020 Ultravasan was part of Hemmavasan, no winner was crowned
2021 Alexandra Morozova, Ural (RUS), 6.48.36
2022 Anna Hellström, Enebybergs IF (SWE ), 7.40.51
2023 Ida Nilsson, Högby IF (SWE), 7.23.54

Ultravasan 45, men
2014 Roman Ryapolov, IFK Mora FK (RUS), 2.49.47
2015 Fritjof Fagerlund, Rånäs 4H (SWE), 2.45.30
2016 Roman Ryapolov, IFK Mora OK (RUS), 2.41.47
2017 Erik Anfält, Örebro AIK (SWE), 2.40.28
2018 David Nilsson, Högby IF/MotionMetrix (SWE), 2.39.33
2019 Fredrik Eriksson, IK Akele (SWE) 2.49.21
2020 Ultravasan was part of Hemmavasan, no winner was crowned
2021 Kristofer Låås, Keep Up RC (SWE), 2.41.04
2022 Kristofer Låås, Keep Up RC(SWE), 2.39.47
2023 Jesper Lundberg, (SWE) Hunflens LS 2.34.29 (Record time!)

Ultravasan 45, women
2014 Gloria Vinstedt, Sweden (SWE), 3.28.13
2015 Caroline Dubois, France (FRA), 3.13.22
2016 Lisa Ring, IK Nocout.se (SWE), 3.04.18
2017 Joasia Zakrzewski, United Kingdom (GBR), 3.06.12
2018 Lisa Ring, IK nocout.se (SWE), 3.03.00
2019 Sofia Byhlinder, IFK Mora Friidrott (SWE), 3.09.40
2020 Ultravasan was part of Hemmavasan, no winner was crowned
2021 Liselotte Hellsten, Spårvägen (SWE), 3.05.38
2022 Barbro Näsström, Säter FIK (SWE), 3.02.47
2023 Erica Lech, Örebro AIK (SWE), 3.02.09 (Record time!)

Trailvasan 30, men
2022 Adhanom Abraha, Eritrea (ERI), 1.41.02
2023 Martin Nilsson, IFK Umeå (SWE), 1.38.51 (Record time!)

Trailvasan 30, women
2022 Maria Larsson, (SWE), 2.00.47
2023 Jenny Björnberg, Falu IK Friidrott (SWE), 1.58.52 (Record time!)

NOTE! At results.vasaloppet.se the 2021 races are called ”Ultravasan 90 Elit” and ”Ultravasan 45 Elit”. Because of the pandemic, these were elite races with a limited number of participants. Due to technical reasons, the results of these two races cannot currently be viewed when searching only for ”All Ultravasan 90” or ”All Ultravasan 45;” they must be selected separately.

All top ten placements in Ultravasan 90, Ultravasan 45 and Trailvasan 30 since the start (PDF)
PDF >

Vasaloppet’s Summer Week 2024
Registration for races in Vasaloppet’s Summer Week 2024 is now open at Vasaloppet’s website www.vasaloppet.se – with a 20 % discount until August 27, 2023.