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Magdalena Forsberg
Magdalena Forsberg in Jan 2014.jpg
Magdalena Forsberg during the Swedish Sports Awards inside the Stockholm Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden in January 2014
Personal information
Birth name Magdalena Wallin
Nickname(s) Magda
Born (1967-07-25) 25 July 1967 (age 57)
Ullånger, Sweden
Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Professional information
Sport Biathlon
Club Sundsvall Biathlon
World Cup debut 8 December 1994
Retired 24 March 2002
Olympic Games
Teams 2 (1998, 2002)
Medals 2 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams 8 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
Medals 12 (6 gold)
World Cup
Seasons 8 (1994/95–2001/02)
Individual victories 42
Individual podiums 87
Overall titles 6 (1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02)
Discipline titles 17:
4 Individual (1997–98, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02);
5 Sprint (1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02);
6 Pursuit (1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02);
2 Mass start (2000–01, 2001–02)
Medal record
Women's biathlon
Representing  Sweden
International biathlon competitions
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 0 2
World Championships 6 1 5
Total 6 1 7
Olympic Games
Bronze 2002 Salt Lake City 15 km individual
Bronze 2002 Salt Lake City 7.5 km sprint
World Championships
Gold 1997 Brezno-Osrblie 15 km individual
Gold 1997 Brezno-Osrblie 10 km pursuit
Gold 1998 Pokljuka 10 km pursuit
Gold 2000 Oslo 10 km pursuit
Gold 2001 Pokljuka 15 km individual
Gold 2001 Pokljuka 12.5 km mass start
Silver 1999 Kontiolahti 7.5 km sprint
Bronze 1996 Ruhpolding 7.5 km sprint
Bronze 1997 Brezno-Osrblie 7.5 km sprint
Bronze 1999 Oslo 12.5 km mass start
Bronze 2000 Oslo 15 km individual
Bronze 2001 Pokljuka 10 km pursuit
Women's cross-country skiing
Representing  Sweden
World Championships
Bronze 1987 Oberstdorf 4 × 5 km relay
Junior World Championships
Silver 1985 Täsch 3 × 5 km relay
Bronze 1986 Lake Placid 3 × 5 km relay
Bronze 1987 Asiago 15 km

Magdalena "Magda" Forsberg, born on July 25, 1967, is a famous Swedish athlete. She used to compete in two winter sports: cross-country skiing and biathlon. From 1997 to 2002, she was the best female biathlete in the world. She won the Biathlon World Cup six times in a row! Magda also won six World Championship gold medals and two bronze medals at the Winter Olympics. She holds the record for the most World Cup wins in women's biathlon.

Magdalena is married to Henrik Forsberg, who was also a biathlete and cross-country skier. They got married in 1996.

Magda's Sports Career

Magdalena Forsberg was amazing in two different winter sports. She started as a cross-country skier and then became a biathlete.

Cross-Country Skiing

Magda competed in cross-country skiing from 1988 to 1996. She took part in the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup. Her best result at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville was finishing seventh in a team relay race. She also came in 26th in a 15 km individual race.

At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, her best individual finish was tenth in a 30 km race in 1989. In 1987, she helped the Swedish team win a bronze medal in the 4 × 5 km relay. Her best World Cup finish was second place in a 10 km race in Finland in 1988.

Biathlon Success

Magdalena Forsberg competed in biathlon from 1993 to 2002. She was incredibly successful! She won the overall Biathlon World Cup title six times in a row, from 1997 to 2002.

She also won six gold medals at the Biathlon World Championships. She earned one silver medal and five bronze medals at these championships. At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Magda won two bronze medals. Throughout her career, she won a total of 42 individual Biathlon World Cup races. This is more than any other female biathlete has ever achieved!

Magdalena Forsberg stopped competing professionally after the 2001–02 season. Four years later, in April 2006, she made a short comeback. She had lost a bet with fellow biathlete Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek. The bet was that if Anna Carin won an Olympic gold medal in 2006, Magda would join her in the Swedish Championship in Women's Relay. They won the competition, with Magda taking an early lead and Anna Carin extending it.

During much of her career, Magda was coached by Wolfgang Pichler. He later became the coach for the Swedish national biathlon team.

Life After Sports

After retiring from sports, Magdalena Forsberg didn't stop learning. She took a business class at the Johan Cruyff Institute in Stockholm. She studied alongside other famous athletes, like footballer Mathias Jönsson and golfer Per-Ulrik Johansson. She also learned more about tax laws.

Other Achievements

Magda Forsberg competed in both biathlon and cross-country skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics. She is the only Swedish athlete to have won the Jerring Award four times. This award is given to the best Swedish sports performance of the year, chosen by public vote.

Biathlon Results

All results are from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games Medals

2 medals (2 bronze)

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Relay
Japan 1998 Nagano 14th 17th N/A 10th
United States 2002 Salt Lake City Bronze Bronze 6th
*The Pursuit event was added in 2002.

World Championships Medals

12 medals (6 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze)

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Team Relay
Italy 1995 Antholz-Anterselva 7th 19th N/A N/A 14th
Germany 1996 Ruhpolding 15th Bronze N/A N/A 9th 10th
Slovakia 1997 Brezno-Osrblie Gold Bronze Gold N/A 11th 16th
Slovenia 1998 Pokljuka N/A N/A Gold N/A 7th N/A
Finland 1999 Kontiolahti 6th Silver 5th Bronze N/A
Norway 2000 Oslo Holmenkollen Bronze 4th Gold 4th N/A 13th
Slovenia 2001 Pokljuka Gold 6th Bronze Gold N/A
Norway 2002 Oslo Holmenkollen N/A N/A N/A 8th N/A N/A
*During Olympic years, competitions are only held for events not included in the Olympics.
**Team events were removed in 1998. Pursuit was added in 1997, and Mass Start in 1999.

Individual Biathlon Wins

42 victories (7 Individual, 13 Sprint, 19 Pursuit, 3 Mass Start)

*These results include races from the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships, and the Winter Olympic Games.

Cross-Country Skiing Results

World Cup career
Seasons 7 – (1988–1994)
Individual wins 0
Team wins 0
Indiv. podiums 1
Team podiums 2
Indiv. starts 31
Team starts 5
Overall titles 0 – (17th in 1989)

All results are from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games Cross-Country

 Year   Age   5 km   15 km   Pursuit   30 km   4 × 5 km 
 relay 
1992 24 26 34 7
1998 28 8

World Championships Cross-Country

  • 1 medal – (1 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km   10 km 
 classical 
 10 km 
 freestyle 
 15 km   20 km   30 km   4 × 5 km 
 relay 
1987 19 N/A N/A N/A Bronze
1989 21 N/A 18 17 N/A 10 4
1991 23 N/A N/A 6

World Cup Cross-Country Podiums

Individual Podiums

  • 1 podium
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1  1987–88  27 March 1988 Finland Rovaniemi, Finland 10 km Individual F World Cup 2nd

Team Podiums

  • 2 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates
1  1986–87  17 February 1987 West Germany Oberstdorf, West Germany 4 × 5 km Relay F World Championships 3rd Lamberg-Skog / Dahlman / Westin
2  1988–89  12 March 1989 Sweden Falun, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay C World Cup 3rd Svingstedt / Lamberg-Skog / Fritzon

Note: Until the 1999 World Championships, World Championship races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Magdalena Forsberg para niños

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