{"id":2591,"date":"2026-03-10T08:25:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T07:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vasaloppet.se\/en\/?post_type=news&p=2591"},"modified":"2026-03-13T09:35:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T08:35:05","slug":"fantastic-achievements-from-vasaloppets-winter-week-2026","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/vasaloppet.se\/en\/news\/fantastic-achievements-from-vasaloppets-winter-week-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantastic achievements from Vasaloppet’s Winter Week 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

First to finish:<\/strong> Nils Dahlsten, \u00d6stersunds SK, 1.14.35, and Emma H\u00e5llstr\u00f6m, Uppsala, 1.37.17, were the first man and woman respectively to finish the year\u2019s first race, Vasaloppet 30. Nils also finished third in the men\u2019s class in Vasaloppet!

Paracupen: <\/strong>14 paralympic cross-country skiers raced Vasaloppet 30, which for them was part of the Svenska Paracupen cross-country skiing cup. Rasmus Adervall, Myssj\u00f6-Ovikens IF, won the men\u2019s I class, 1.37.18. Kristin Bj\u00f6rfeldt, Sya SK, won the women\u2019s I class, 2.06.29, and Louise Perottosdotter, Lima IF, the women\u2019s LW9, 2.10.51. Arnt-Christian Furuberg, Sockertoppen IF, won the men\u2019s LW12 and delivered a strong performance ahead of the Paralympics in Milano Cortina, 1.53.24. Samuel Brauckmann, \u00d6stersunds SK, won the men\u2019s LW9, 1.59.23.

Skied all Vasaloppet 30 races for 30 years (1997\u20132026): <\/strong>Jonas \u00c5hstr\u00f6m, R\u00e5da IK, 1.40.43 and Bengt Jans, Karlskoga, 4.28.34

Best woman in Tjejvasan: <\/strong>Johanna Hagstr\u00f6m, Ulricehamns IF, who made her debut in Ungdomsvasan at age 10 in 2009. Now Johanna won Tjejvasan 2026, 1.26.11. She came into the finishing straight in third place, but the sprint showed why she is third in the World Cup sprint standings.

Smallest photo-finish margin: <\/strong>Johanna Hagstr\u00f6m won Tjejvasan by 16 thousandths of a second. Over 30 km of skiing that corresponds to 93 millimetres.

Best Norwegian in Tjejvasan: <\/strong>Julie St\u00f6stad, 2nd, 1.26.11.

Tjejvasan 38 times (every race since 1988): <\/strong>Marianne Andersson, Oxbergs IF, 3.07.01; Ingegerd Karlsson, Berghem, 4.40.51; Margareta L\u00f6fqvist, V\u00e4ster\u00e5s, 3.19.05 and Margareta \u00d6stensson Lindblom, Falun, 2.47.09.

Tjejvasan for the first time:<\/strong> Ulla Halvarsson, 79 years old (D80), Ljusdal, 5.12.33. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t I think of this long ago?\u201d

Best in F\u00f6rsvarsmaktsvasan 2026: <\/strong>Sebastian Jansson Saadio, I 13, and Anna Lindgren, MR Norr, defended their victories from last year in F\u00f6rsvarsmaktsvasan for the Swedish Armed Forces, which was held in connection with \u00d6ppet Sp\u00e5r Sunday. Sebastian finished in 4.34.48 and Anna in 5.32.33. (In total 900 were registered.)

Best Gustav Vasa: <\/strong>No, he is not an avatar. The role of Gustav Vasa was played by Nils Nystr\u00f6m who, for the 51st time, skied back and forth along the finishing straight in Mora! Every day. \u201cYou could say I\u2019m a bit of a living mascot\u2026\u201d

Skied all Vasaloppet 45 races for 30 years (1997\u20132026): <\/strong>Yngve Frost, Nusn\u00e4s, 4.46.01, and Jan Rova, Mora, 5.55.04.

Fastest in Stafettvasan 2026: <\/strong>Team Torsby Skidtunnel again this year, 4.18.31, with Oscar Persson, Bill Impola, Viktor Hansson, Martin Rosvall and Bob Impola in the team.

Most teams in Stafettvasan: <\/strong>Vasaloppet\u2019s main sponsor Ahlsell had a total of 66 teams at the start in Stafettvasan.

Best Swede, best skier from J\u00e4mtland and best 34-year-old in Vasaloppet (and victor with the most attempts before their win): <\/strong>Oskar Kardin, 4.14.45. (J\u00f6rgen Aukland made ten starts in Vasaloppet before winning in 2008. Oskar Kardin skied twelve Vasaloppet before now winning in his 13th. He was also born on 13 January!)

Best team in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Lager 157 Ski Team delivered the men\u2019s winner in Vasaloppet for the fourth year in a row: Emil Persson 2023, Torleif Syrstad 2024, Alvar Myhlback 2025 and now Oskar Kardin 2026 \u2013 and also the top five places in the men\u2019s race this year. Team manager Anton J\u00e4rnberg called it: \u201cThe best day in the team\u2019s history!\u201d

Best Norwegian woman in the 30th Vasaloppet with a competition class for women, and now the Norwegian woman with the most Vasaloppet wins: <\/strong>Emilie Fleten, 4.24.26. Her results in Vasaloppet, which she has skied since 2020: 9, 6, 3, 1, 1, 4, 1.

Best Swedish woman in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Hanna Lodin, 2nd, 4.26.03: \u201cI\u2019m super happy, being on the podium in Vasaloppet is completely crazy,\u201d said the pride of Eskilstuna to Radiosporten.

Second-best Swede and best Dalarna woman in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Stina Nilsson, 5th, 4.28.29. \u201cNo matter what, I love Vasaloppet,\u201d Stina told SVT Sport.

Best Dalarna man, best junior (H17) and best Myhlback in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Alvar Myhlback, Bjurs\u00e5s, 2nd, 4.14.49. On the podium for the third year in a row, though not yet 20 years old!

Best Norwegian man in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Runar Skaug Mathisen, 4th, 4.14.50. For the second year in a row the men\u2019s podium was 3 x Sweden.

Best debutant in Vasaloppet (women): <\/strong>Ane Appelkvist Stenseth, Norway, 13th, 4.38.47, in her first Vasaloppet.

Best Swedish debutant in Vasaloppet (women): <\/strong>Ella Olsson, H\u00f6gbo, 22nd, 4.45.06, in her first Vasaloppet.

Best debutant in Vasaloppet (men): <\/strong>Malte Jutterdal, Falun-Borl\u00e4nge, 50th, 4.20.42, in his first Vasaloppet.

Best Petter in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Petter Stakston, Norway, 28th, 4.16.59.

Best 40-year-old and second-best junior in Vasaloppet (H40):<\/strong> Petter Northug Jr., Norway, 30th, 4.17.59.

Best Finnish finish in Vasaloppet:<\/strong> Kati Roivas, 8th in the women\u2019s class, 4.30.04, and Ari Luusua, 8th in the men\u2019s class, 4.14.54.

Best 50-plus in Vasaloppet, men (H50), and best Czech:<\/strong> Stanislav Rez\u00e1c, 52 years old, Czech Republic, 57th, 4.20.48. (In his 27th Vasaloppet!! He has only been outside the top 100 once. That time he came 101st\u2026)

Best 40-plus in Vasaloppet, women (D40): <\/strong>Karin Wall\u00e9n, Korsn\u00e4s, 52nd, 5.18.20.

Best 50-plus in Vasaloppet, women (D50): <\/strong>Jenny Ramstedt, Nacka V\u00e4rmd\u00f6, 85th, 5.17.51.

Time required to be top 100 in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Men: 4.25.52. Women: 6.05.30.

Time required to be top 1000 in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Men: 5.42.04. Women: 11.05.56.

Performance medal: <\/strong>1,856 participants received the performance medal in Vasaloppet 2026. Those who ski within the winning time plus 50 percent receive the performance medal. The medal time in 2026 was 6.22.08 for men (finish no later than 14.22.08) and 6.36.39 for women (finish no later than 14.36.39).

Best non-Swede\/non-Norwegian\/non-Finn, and best Frenchman in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Jeremy Royer, France, 16th, 4.15.05. (17 of the top 100 men came from a country other than Sweden or Norway.)

Best non-Swede\/non-Norwegian\/non-Finn, and best Czech woman in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Tereza Hujerova, Czech Republic, 16th, 4.39.32. (16 of the top 100 women came from a country other than Sweden or Norway.)

Best monetary performance: <\/strong>132,000 SEK. Emilie Fleten won Vasaloppet and five sprint prizes (including the Hill Prize in Evertsberg).

Second-best monetary performance: <\/strong>112,000 SEK. Oskar Kardin won Vasaloppet and two sprint prizes.

Best skier finishing on one yellow ski from one brand and a red ski from another brand:<\/strong> Oskar Kardin, 1st.

Second-best Myhlback and best junior (D17): <\/strong>Vera Myhlback, Bjurs\u00e5s, 16 years old, 38th in her first Vasaloppet, 5.03.59.

Best Gustav Eriksson in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Gustav Eriksson, Mora, 72nd, 4.22.37.

Best Olympic biathlon gold medallist in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Peppe Femling, Sweden, 118th, 4.28.31.

Youngest finisher in Vasaloppet 2026, men: <\/strong>Josef Kov\u00e1r, C\u00ed\u017eov\u00e1, Czech Republic (born 2009-12-21), 7.05.22. The youngest ever to complete Vasaloppet is still Sixten \u00d6sterman, \u00d6rebro, (born 2008-12-29), who skied in 2025.

Youngest finisher in Vasaloppet 2026, women: <\/strong>Ebba Eriksson, Norrt\u00e4lje, (born 2009-12-21), 10.24.09. Sixteen-year-old Ebba thereby became the youngest female participant ever to complete Vasaloppet.

Best veteran in Vasaloppet:<\/strong> Anders S\u00f6rensson, Munkedal, 186th, 4.38.50. One hundred places better than in 2025! (More about all the veteran performances will follow!)

Best Svahn in Vasaloppet and best 58-year-old (H55): <\/strong>Peo Svahn, Boxholm, 189th, 4.39.19. This 58-year-old became a veteran last year and now started in the elite start group for his 31st year!

Best placing by a Svensson in Vasaloppet<\/strong>: Andreas Svensson, Ulricehamn, 70th, 4.22.24.

Most sitski participations:<\/strong> Adventurer Aron Anderson skis in a sitski and finished Vasaloppet for the 12th time, 9.05.14.

More sitski skiers: <\/strong>Viktor Dykyi, Kyiv, Ukraine, lost both legs in the war and also skied Vasaloppet in a sitski, 10.23.42.

Sit-ski in \u00d6ppet Sp\u00e5r: <\/strong>Lina \u00c5hnberg, Uppsala, skied \u00d6ppet Sp\u00e5r Sunday, 8.24.31.

Best official Vasaloppet coach in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Erik Wickstr\u00f6m, 62nd, 4.20.49.

Best \u00c5land participant in Vasaloppet:<\/strong> Isac Holmstr\u00f6m, 63rd, 4.20.49. (23 participants from \u00c5land completed Vasaloppet 2026).

Best American and best Power in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Nicholas Power, USA, 112th, 4.28.26.

Best cameraman in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>SVT\u2019s skiing photographer Adam Karlsson. With only one pole and camera equipment weighing up to 10 kg! 12.47.22.

Best tandem skiers in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Isak Hellberg and Anna Ohlson, Bjurs\u00e5s, 9.52.07. (Isak at the front of the tandem skis.)

Second-best tandem skiers in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Nils Thorin and Arvid Nordblom, Hind\u00e5s, 10.53.58. (Nils at the front of the tandem skis.)

Finish number 2,000,000: <\/strong>Veronica Olofsson, \u00c5nge, 12.40.43, became the two-millionth participant to finish in Vasaloppet\u2019s history, counting all races for skiing, cycling and running. The prize: free entry for the rest of her life to all Vasaloppet events. \u201cIt was damn well worth it,\u201d she commented after finishing.

Longest distance by a woman this year: <\/strong>Harpa Oskarsdottir, V\u00e4ster\u00e5s, skied five Winter Week races, making a total of 405 km.

Longest distance by a man this year: <\/strong>Robert Svensson, Alstermo, skied seven Winter Week races, making a total of 445 km.

Ski wedding: <\/strong>15 couples got married in Mora church\u2019s ski-in wedding ceremony after finishing during the Winter Week \u2013 and one blessing was held. A total of 117 couples have now married after finishing!

Last to set off from the start: <\/strong>Oskar Pettersson, J\u00f6nk\u00f6ping, noticed after a while that he had lost his keys on the start field, so he turned back and skied three times back and forth, searching, before setting off again towards Mora, 12.44.57. (He ended up skiing closer to 100 km…)

Very last to finish in Vasaloppet: <\/strong>Eric Fohlman, Bromma, 13.22.58, and Svante Stenlund, Skellefte\u00e5, 13.22.58. \u201cThey controlled the entire field!\u201d

As always:<\/strong> With reservation for possible changes. Welcome back this summer!<\/em>

Registration for all races during the Winter Week 2027 is now open. Early-bird discount applies until March 27, 2026:
Registration 2027 ><\/a>

Upcoming events:
<\/strong>
Vasaloppet\u2019s Summer Week 2026\u00a0\u2013 biking and running<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n