Pernilla Wiberg facts for kids
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Pernilla Wiberg in December 2011
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| Disciplines | Downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, combined | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Club | Norrköpings SK | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 October 1970 Norrköping, Sweden |
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| Height | 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 13 March 1990 (age 19) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | March 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | pernilla-wiberg.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 4 – (1992 -2002) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 3 (2 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 5 – (1991 -2001) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 6 (4 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 13 – (1990 -2002) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 61 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 1 – 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 4 – SL (1997), K (1994, 1995, 1997) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Pernilla Wiberg (born October 15, 1970) is a famous Swedish former alpine ski racer and businesswoman. She competed in the World Cup from 1990 to 2002. During her career, she became one of the few skiers to win races in all five alpine skiing events.
Pernilla Wiberg won two Olympic gold medals, four World Championship titles, and one World Cup overall title. This makes her one of the most successful alpine ski racers of the 1990s. She represented Norrköpings SK, a club from her hometown of Norrköping, Sweden.
Contents
Pernilla Wiberg's Skiing Career
Pernilla Wiberg started her international career in the early 1990s. She had competed in junior world championships in 1987 and 1988. Her big breakthrough came in 1990. In her first World Cup race in Vemdalen, Sweden, she finished 5th in slalom. Just five days later, she placed 3rd in giant slalom in Åre.
In 1991, Pernilla won three World Cup races. She also earned a gold medal in giant slalom at the 1991 World Championships in Saalbach. This was the first Alpine World Championship gold for a Scandinavian woman in 33 years. By the time she retired in 2002, Wiberg had won 21 more World Cup races. This brought her total to 24 World Cup victories. She achieved at least one win in each of the five different alpine skiing events. In five World Championships, she won six medals: four gold, one silver, and one bronze.
A Champion Season: 1996–1997
Pernilla Wiberg's best season was in 1996–1997. She won ten World Cup races that year. She also took home the overall World Cup title, the slalom title, and the combined title. She beat Katja Seizinger, who had won the overall title the year before, by more than 500 points.
In slalom, she was very strong, winning 5 out of 9 races. She also finished second twice and third once. In this season, she won her first World Cup downhill race. This made her one of the first women to win World Cup races in all five alpine disciplines. She almost won the Super-G title too, but a mistake in the final race cost her the crystal globe.
Today, Pernilla Wiberg works as an alpine skiing commentator for Sveriges Television, a Swedish TV channel.
Olympic Achievements
Pernilla Wiberg had great success at the Olympic Games. She won the giant slalom gold medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. She then won the combined gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. At both of these Olympics, she was the most successful Swedish athlete.
In 1998 in Nagano, she earned a silver medal in the downhill event. Pernilla considers this silver medal to be the best achievement of her career. In her last Olympics in 2002, at age 31, she finished 14th in downhill and 12th in super-G. The Olympic super-G was her final international race. She announced her retirement a few weeks later after having knee surgery.
Awards and Recognition
In 1991, Pernilla Wiberg received the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal. This award recognized her amazing giant slalom victory at the World Championships. The jury praised her "bold and skillful" performance. In the same year, she also received the Jerring Award, which she won again the following year.
Involvement with the Olympic Committee
Pernilla Wiberg was chosen as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2002. She served an eight-year term until 2010. During her time, she was part of several important committees. These included the Athletes' Commission and the Ethics Commission.
In 2008, the IOC announced that Pernilla Wiberg would lead a special group. This group's job was to look at the plans of cities hoping to host the first Winter Youth Olympic Games.
Working for Peace Through Sport
Pernilla Wiberg is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club. This group includes 114 famous athletes who use sport to promote peace around the world. The club was created by Peace and Sport, an international organization based in Monaco.
Other well-known athletes in the 'Champions for Peace' club include Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, British runner Paula Radcliffe, and Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic.
Personal Life and Business
Pernilla Wiberg is married to Bødvar Bjerke. They have two children, Axel (born in 2003) and Sofia (born in 2007). Since 1995, Pernilla has lived in Monaco.
As a businesswoman, she owns and manages the Pernilla Wiberg Hotel. This hotel is located at Idre Fjäll in Dalarna, Sweden.
World Cup Results Overview
Pernilla Wiberg achieved many successes in the World Cup. She won five season titles in total. This includes one overall title, one slalom title, and three combined titles.
Season Titles Won
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Combined |
| 1995 | Combined |
| 1997 | Overall |
| Slalom | |
| Combined |
World Cup Race Victories
Pernilla Wiberg won a total of 24 World Cup races. These victories were across all five alpine skiing disciplines. She won 2 downhill races, 3 Super-G races, 2 giant slalom races, 14 slalom races, and 3 combined events.
| Season | Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 7 January 1991 | Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria | Slalom |
| 10 March 1991 | Lake Louise, Canada | Giant slalom | |
| 20 March 1991 | Waterville Valley, U.S. | Slalom | |
| 1992 | 28 February 1992 | Narvik, Norway | Giant slalom |
| 1993 | 6 December 1992 | Steamboat Springs, USA | Slalom |
| 1994 | 12 December 1993 | Veysonnaz, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 6 January 1994 | Morzine, France | Slalom | |
| 17 January 1994 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Super-G | |
| 5 February 1994 | Sierra Nevada, Spain | Combined | |
| 1995 | 12 March 1995 | Lenzerheide, Switzerland | Slalom |
| Combined | |||
| 1996 | 22 December 1995 | Veysonnaz, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 29 December 1995 | Semmering, Austria | Slalom | |
| 1997 | 1 December 1996 | Lake Louise, Canada | Super-G |
| 28 December 1996 | Semmering, Austria | Slalom | |
| 4 January 1997 | Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom | |
| 12 January 1997 | Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria | Super-G | |
| 19 January 1997 | Zwiesel, Germany | Slalom | |
| 2 February 1997 | Laax, Switzerland | Combined | |
| 7 March 1997 | Mammoth Mountain, U.S. | Slalom | |
| 12 March 1997 | Vail, U.S. | Downhill | |
| 16 March 1997 | Slalom | ||
| 1999 | 3 January 1999 | Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom |
| 2000 | 18 December 1999 | St. Moritz, Switzerland | Downhill |
Images for kids
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Pernilla Wiberg in December 2011
See also
In Spanish: Pernilla Wiberg para niños
