Vasaloppet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vasaloppet
Jørgen Aukland, Norway, winning the 2013 men's event
Status	Active
Genre	Sports event
Date(s)	First Sunday in March
Frequency	Annually
Location(s)	Sälen–Mora
Country	Sweden
Years active	102
Inaugurated	1922 (1922)
Founder	Anders Pers
Participants	15,800
Attendance	70,200 (2015)
Budget	SEK 120 million (2012)
Activity	Cross-country skiing
Organised by	IFK Mora Sälens IF [sv]
Sponsor	Volvo IBM Preem Stadium AB

Vasaloppet (Swedish for 'the Vasa race') is an annual long distance cross-country ski race held on the first Sunday of March. The 90 km (56 mi) course starts in the village of Berga, just south of Sälen in western Dalarna, Sweden, and ends in the town of Mora in the central part of the province. It is the oldest cross-country ski race in the world, as well as the one with the highest number of participants.

The race was inspired by a notable journey King Gustav Vasa made from Mora to Sälen when he was fleeing from Christian II's soldiers during the winter of 1520–1521 in the beginning of the Swedish War of Liberation. According to legend, he fled on skis. The modern competition started in 1922 and it has been a part of the Worldloppet events since 1979.

Origin

In 1520, the young nobleman Gustav Ericsson Vasa was fleeing from the troops of Christian II, king of Denmark, Sweden and Norway (the Kalmar Union). Much of the Swedish nobility was in opposition to the king, and had nicknamed him Christian the Tyrant. In a move to silence the opposition, Christian invited the Swedish aristocracy to a reconciliation party in Stockholm, only to have them, including Gustav's parents, massacred in what came to be known as the Stockholm Bloodbath.

Gustav fled through Dalarna, fearing for his life if he were discovered by the king's troops. He spoke to the men of Mora at a gathering and tried to convince them to raise a levy and start a rebellion against King Christian. The men refused to join the rebellion, and Gustav started out west, toward Norway to seek refuge. However, the men in Mora changed their minds after hearing that the Danish rulers had decided to raise taxes, and now they wanted to join the rebellion with Gustav as their leader. They sent out the two best skiers in the county, two brothers from Mora, Lars and Engelbrekt, to search for him and they caught up with him at Sälen. On 6 June 1523, Gustav Vasa was crowned King of Sweden, after having defeated the Danish king Christian and dissolved the Kalmar Union. Since that day, Sweden has been an independent nation.

While Gustav traveled from Mora to Sälen, the modern race is run the opposite way, finishing in Mora.

History

Ernst Alm, first winner, 1922

The idea for the race was published in Westmanlands Läns Tidning on 10 February 1922 by Anders Pers from Mora. On 5 March 1922, the board of IFK Mora decided to organize a trial race. Newspaper Dagens Nyheter sponsored the race with SEK 1,000 and with finances secured the first race was held on 19 March 1922. 136 participants registered for the race and 119 started. The winner was 22-year-old Ernst Alm from Norsjö Sports Club in 7:32:49. He is also the youngest ever winner of the race.

In the 80th race, held on 7 March 2004, about 15,500 skiers competed in the main event. More than 40,000 participated in one of the seven different races held during the first week of March. Vasaloppet is one of the races in the long distance cup Ski Classics.

When Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated just two days before the race in 1986, a cancellation of that year's race was considered. However, the race proceeded as planned with the 10,000 participants observing a moment of silence before the start.

Women's participation

Kransmas Erik Smedhs and Vibeke Skofterud, 2012

Women winners in Vasaloppet have received awards since 1997. Before that, in 1922–23 and 1981–96, women were allowed to race, but did not receive awards. The first woman to participate was Margit Nordin from Grängesberg in 1923, at 10:09:42. Falu Kuriren wrote about the event: "... an incredible ovation greeted the only lady competitor, Miss Margit Nordin. Miss Nordin was lifted high on strong arms and she received flowers and cheers".

Through the years following the first race, there were many heated debates about women's participation. A majority of officials, mostly male, within sports organizations as well as in society in general, were opposed to women in the race. This led to women being banned from the race from 1924 until 1980. The ban was introduced because it was considered bad for women's health to participate in such a competition. The ban was criticized, especially after 1960. Some defended the ban saying that allowing women would diminish the race's reputation as a tough challenge. Several women did nevertheless participate during the ban, disguised as men. Two of the women who disguised themselves in 1978, Birgitta Westhed and Britt Dohsé, were assisted by professional make-up artist from the Gothenburg City Theatre, who changed their looks using wigs, moustache and a full beard. Westhed was interviewed by TV during the race, which put women's participation higher on the media agenda.

Motto

Finish portal

The motto of Vasaloppet I fäders spår för framtids segrar ('In [our] fathers' tracks for future victories') is written on a portal erected over the finish line in Mora. At the first race, the finish line was simply marked with white board between two flag poles with the word Mål ('Finish') on it. The second year a more stately portal with the motto was fashioned. In 1986, the portal was made permanent and has since become a significant landmark in Mora.

Kranskulla and kransmas

A tradition connected to the race is the custom to choose a kranskulla. This is a woman who is given the honor of hanging a laurel victory wreath around the neck of the winner of the race as he crosses the finish line. She is dressed in the traditional folk costume of Dalarna. With the introduction of the women's race, Tjejvasan in 1988, a male kransmas is also appointed. During the year, those who have been appointed as kranskulla and kransmas serve as ambassadors for the race.

The race

Organization

The race is organized by the non-profit organization Vasaloppsföreningen Sälen-Mora that was registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office in 1992 and is owned by two local sports clubs, IFK Mora and Sälens IF [sv]. The organization has approximately 35-year-round employees who work with planning, preparing and developing the events.

Stations

Traditionally since 1958, blåbärssoppa ('bilberry-soup') made by Ekströms food company, is served at the stations along the course. The Swedish word for bilberry, blåbär, literally means 'blueberry'. About 50,000 liters are served during the Vasaloppet week. In addition, sports drinks and "Vasaloppet buns" are also served. Coffee is served at the Eldris station.

For a number of years, Ekströms had the logo for their blåbärssoppa printed on the number tags worn by the participants in the race. The word blåbär was printed in large bold letters, which resulted in the participants being called blåbär— a double meaning and pun since the word is also used to describe a "rookie".

Vasaloppet stations

A cup of blåbärssoppa

Assar Rönnlund as blåbär 108 in 1967

• Berga by, 0 km (0 mi)
• Smågan, 11 km (6.8 mi)
• Mångsbodarna, 24 km (15 mi)
• Risberg, 35 km (22 mi)
• Evertsberg, 47 km (29 mi)
• Oxberg, 62 km (39 mi)
• Hökberg, 71 km (44 mi)
• Eldris, 81 km (50 mi)
• Mora, 90 km (56 mi)

Track profile

The Rope

The Rope, also referred to as "The Dreaded Rope", is a series of ropes drawn across the track at certain times to prevent participants, who have no chance of reaching the finish line in Mora before the area is closed, to continue. The ropes in Vasaloppet are drawn at seven of the stations: Smågan, Mångsbodarna, Risberg, Evertsberg, Oxberg, Hökberg and Eldris. The race starts at 8:00 a.m. and the finish area is closed at 8:15 p.m. just before the prize ceremony. There is artificial light from Eldris, but skiers should not go in darkness before that place, which also sets a limit for the rope times.

World cup race

Since 1978, Vasaloppet is included in the Worldloppet Ski Federation, a series of long-distance cross-country skiing races. In 2006, the Vasaloppet was included in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup; a large complement of World Cup racers joined the men's field for the full 90 km (56 mi) distance. Owing to the distance—40 km (25 mi) longer than the longest race usually skied in the World Cup—as well as the proximity to the just-concluded Olympic Games in Turin, the race was again dominated by long-distance specialists rather than World Cup racers. Daniel Tynell won the race, just ahead of Jerry Ahrlin, while Anders Aukland – who has skied on both the Norwegian national World Cup team and in marathons like the Vasaloppet – finished third. The women's World Cup Vasaloppet was held over 45 km (28 mi) the previous day, rather than being integrated with the full Vasaloppet. Marit Bjørgen from Norway won, though the field included only World Cup racers, since the marathon specialists chose to race in the full-distance event the next day.

Vasaloppet week

Kortvasan start in Oxberg, 2006

The week preceding Vasaloppet is known as Vasaloppet week. Races held during this week include:

• Kortvasan [sv] (short – 30 km (19 mi))
• Tjejvasan (ladies – 30 km (19 mi))
• Halvvasan [sv] (half – 45 km (28 mi))
• Ungdomsvasan [sv] (9–16 years old – 3–9 km (1.9–5.6 mi))
• Öppet spår [sv] (non-competitive – 90 km (56 mi))
• Stafettvasan [sv] (relay – 90 km (56 mi))
• Nattvasan [sv] (two-person teams make the original race at night in darkness – 90 km (56 mi))
• Vasaloppet (original – 90 km (56 mi))

Statistics

Multiple winners

Men

Nils 'Mora-Nisse' Karlsson has the most titles, with 9. Janne Stefansson (7), Jan Ottosson (4), Arthur Häggblad (4), Bengt Hassis (3), Oskar Svärd (3), Daniel Tynell, Jörgen Brink (3) and John Kristian Dahl (3) are the only other racers with more than two titles. Six men have two titles.

Women

Sofia Lind has the most titles, with 4. Four women have two titles.

Time

The average winning time is 5:11:38 (a per-kilometer average of 3:28). The record winning time is 3:28:18 (2:19 per kilometer), set by Tord Asle Gjerdalen of Norway in 2021. Only 11 winners have finished in less than four hours.

Konrad Hallenbarter from Switzerland, is the first to win a Vasaloppet under four hours,3:58:08, in 1983.

The ten fastest times include six Swedes and four Norwegians; Jörgen Brink, Sweden appear twice in the list of the ten fastest times. Of the ten fastest times, one occurred in the 1980s, one in the 1990s, two in the 2000s, three in the 2010s and three in the 2020s.

In 2021 course records were set for both men and women. Before that the fastest year was 2012, also with course records for both men and women.

Ten fastest times

1. 2021: Tord Asle Gjerdalen (NOR) – 3:28:18
2. 2022: Andreas Nygaard [no] (NOR) - 3:32:18
3. 2023: Emil Persson [no; sv] (SWE) – 3:37:43
4. 2012: Jörgen Brink (SWE) – 3:38:41
5. 1998: Peter Göransson (SWE) – 3:38:57
6. 2004: Anders Aukland (NOR) – 3:48:42
7. 1986: Bengt Hassis (SWE) – 3:48:55
8. 2013: Jørgen Aukland (NOR) – 3:50:49
9. 2005: Oskar Svärd (SWE) – 3:51:47
10. 2011: Jörgen Brink (SWE) – 3:51:51

Average times

Average times per decade have declined in each ten-year span, with the sharpest drop between decade averages occurring in the 1960s, for which the average winning time was 31:45 faster than the average winning time of the 1950s. The average winning time in the 1970s was 16:07 faster than the 1960s, the 1980s average was 24:09 faster than the 1970s, and the 1990s average was 13:06 faster than the 1980s. The average winning time in the 2000s is only 2:18 faster than the 1990s, however. As of 2011 the average winning time so far in the 2010s is 12:12 faster than the 2000s.

Winners' nationalities

Sweden is the most prolific producer of winners, with 74 titles (including two all-Sweden ties, in 1928 and 1988), or 90% of the 82 contested races. (The race was canceled in 1932, 1934, and 1990). Norway has produced seven winners: Ole Ellefsæter, 1971; Anders Aukland, 2004; Jørgen Aukland, 2008 and 2013; John Kristian Dahl, 2014, 2016 and 2017, Petter Eliassen, 2015, Andreas Nygaard, 2018,Tore Björseth Berdal, 2019. Two countries have produced two winners: Finland (Pekka Kuvaja, 1954; Pauli Siitonen, 1973) and Austria (Walter Mayer, 1980; Mikhail Botvinov, 1997). Five countries have produced one winner: East Germany (Gert-Dietmar Klause, 1975), the Soviet Union (Ivan Garanin, 1977), France (Jean-Paul Pierrat, 1978), Switzerland (Konrad Hallenbarter, 1983), and Estonia (Raul Olle, 2000).

Sweden won every race until 1954, when Pekka Kuvaja of Finland won the race. The next non-Swede to win was Ole Ellefsæter of Norway (1971), who kicked off a decade in which Sweden won just five titles and racers from five other countries won the five other titles. Sweden won 8 of the titles in the 1980s (Austria [Mayer, 1980] and Switzerland [Hallenbarter, 1983] each won one title in that decade), and 8 more in the 1990s (Austria won one more title in that decade [Botvinov, 1997], and the race was canceled once [1990]). In the 2000s, Sweden won seven races, Norway won twice (Anders Aukland, 2004; Jørgen Aukland, 2008), and Estonia won once (Olle, 2000).

Winners

Men Year Name Club/Nation Time 1922 Ernst Alm IFK Norsjö, Sweden 7:32:49 1923 Oskar Lindberg IFK Norsjö, Sweden 6:32:41 1924 John Lindgren IFK Umeå, Sweden 6:53:26 1925 Sven Utterström Bodens BK, Sweden 6:03:55 1926 Per-Erik Hedlund Malungs IF [sv], Sweden 5:36:07 1927 Konrad Pettersson Luleå SK, Sweden 6:19:32 1928 Per-Erik Hedlund and Sven Utterström (tie) Särna SK, Sweden Bodens BK, Sweden 5:33:23 1929 Johan Abram Persson Arjeplogs SK [sv], Sweden 6:38:22 1930 Verner Lundström Arvidsjaurs IF, Sweden 6:56:30 1931 Anders Ström IFK Mora, Sweden 6:37:47 1932 Cancelled 1933 Arthur Häggblad IFK Umeå, Sweden 5:57:09 1934 Cancelled 1935 Arthur Häggblad IFK Umeå, Sweden 6:08:55 1936 Sven Hansson Lima IF, Sweden 6:31:55 1937 Arthur Häggblad IFK Umeå, Sweden 6:05:56 1938 Elias Nilsson Östersunds SK [sv], Sweden 5:48:28 1939 Alfred Lif Orsa IF, Sweden 5:35:59 1940 Arthur Häggblad IFK Umeå, Sweden 6:23:57 1941 Mauritz Brännström IFK Norsjö, Sweden 6:51:12 1942 Olle Wiklund IFK Bergvik, Sweden 5:31:50 1943 Nils 'Mora-Nisse' Karlsson IFK Mora, Sweden 5:47:10 1944 Gösta Andersson IFK Umeå, Sweden 5:18:43 1945 Nils 'Mora-Nisse' Karlsson IFK Mora, Sweden 6:27:59 1946 Nils 'Mora-Nisse' Karlsson IFK Mora, Sweden 6:08:42 1947 Nils 'Mora-Nisse' Karlsson IFK Mora, Sweden 5:59:35 1948 Nils 'Mora-Nisse' Karlsson IFK Mora, Sweden 5:35:13 1949 Nils 'Mora-Nisse' Karlsson IFK Mora, Sweden 5:44:09 1950 Nils 'Mora-Nisse' Karlsson IFK Mora, Sweden 6:08:25 1951 Nils 'Mora-Nisse' Karlsson IFK Mora, Sweden 5:27:20 1952 Sigfrid Mattsson Skarpnäcks IF, Sweden 5:09:45 1953 Nils 'Mora-Nisse' Karlsson IFK Mora, Sweden 5:01:55 1954 Pekka Kuvaja  Finland 6:22:51 1955 Sixten Jernberg Lima IF, Sweden 5:27:28 1956 Sigvard Jonsson Rossöns IK, Sweden 5:23:36 1957 Gunnar Larsson [de; sv] Oxbergs IF, Sweden 6:23:40 1958 Gunnar Larsson [de; sv] Oxbergs IF, Sweden 5:31:50 1959 Sune Larsson Oxbergs IF, Sweden 5:13:28 1960 Sixten Jernberg Lima IF, Sweden 5:13:26 1961 David Johansson Delsbo IF, Sweden 4:45:10 1962 Janne Stefansson Sälens IF [sv], Sweden 5:07:46 1963 Janne Stefansson Sälens IF [sv], Sweden 4:56:25 1964 Janne Stefansson Sälens IF [sv], Sweden 5:32:07 1965 Janne Stefansson Sälens IF [sv], Sweden 4:35:03 1966 Janne Stefansson Sälens IF [sv], Sweden 5:52:38 1967 Assar Rönnlund IFK Umeå, Sweden 5:20:22 1968 Janne Stefansson Sälens IF [sv], Sweden 4:39:49 1969 Janne Stefansson Sälens IF [sv], Sweden 4:50:07 1970 Lars-Arne Bölling IFK Mora, Sweden 5:08:38 1971 Ole Ellefsæter  Norway 5:12:56 1972 Lars-Arne Bölling IFK Mora, Sweden 5:35:19 1973 Pauli Siitonen  Finland 4:42:11 1974 Matti Kuosku Högbo IF, Sweden 5:06:23 1975 Gert-Dietmar Klause  East Germany 4:20:29 1976 Matti Kuosku Högbo IF, Sweden 4:09:07 1977 Ivan Garanin  Soviet Union 4:30:34 1978 Jean-Paul Pierrat  France 5:20:12 1979 Ola Hassis Orsa IF, Sweden 4:05:58 1980 Walter Mayer  Austria 4:08:02 1981 Sven-Åke Lundbäck IFK Råneå, Sweden 4:29:32 1982 Lasse Frykberg IFK Mora, Sweden 4:28:50 1983 Konrad Hallenbarter  Switzerland 3:58:08 1984 Hans Persson Åsarna IK, Sweden 4:14:14 1985 Bengt Hassis Orsa IF, Sweden 4:45:43 1986 Bengt Hassis Orsa IF, Sweden 3:48:55 1987 Anders Larsson Bondsjöhöjden [sv], Sweden 4:20:20 1988 Anders Blomquist and Örjan Blomquist (tie) IFK Lidingö, Sweden IFK Lidingö, Sweden 4:47:04 1989 Jan Ottosson Åsarna IK, Sweden 5:09:33 1990 Cancelled 1991 Jan Ottosson Åsarna IK, Sweden 5:07:11 1992 Jan Ottosson Åsarna IK, Sweden 3:57:04 1993 Håkan Westin Graningealliansen [sv], Sweden 4:02:10 1994 Jan Ottosson Åsarna IK, Sweden 4:06:19 1995 Sven-Erik Danielsson Dala-Järna IK, Sweden 4:11:09 1996 Håkan Westin Graningealliansen [sv], Sweden 4:01:15 1997 Michail Botvinov  Austria 4:11:41 1998 Peter Göransson Åsarna IK, Sweden 3:38:57 1999 Staffan Larsson IFK Mora, Sweden 4:31:37 2000 Raul Olle  Estonia 4:14:38 2001 Henrik Eriksson IFK Mora, Sweden 4:01:22 2002 Daniel Tynell Falun/Borlänge SK [sv], Sweden 3:58:52 2003 Oskar Svärd Sollefteå SK, Sweden 3:58:23 2004 Anders Aukland  Norway 3:48:42 2005 Oskar Svärd Ulricehamns IF [fr; no; sv], Sweden 3:51:47 2006 Daniel Tynell Grycksbo IF, Sweden 4:34:09 2007 Oskar Svärd Ulricehamns IF [fr; no; sv], Sweden 4:43:40 2008 Jørgen Aukland Team Xtra Personnel, Norway 4:13:45 2009 Daniel Tynell Grycksbo IF, Sweden 4:10:56 2010 Jörgen Brink Hudiksvalls IF [sv], Sweden 4:02:59 2011 Jörgen Brink Hudiksvalls IF [sv], Sweden 3:51:51 2012 Jörgen Brink Team United Bakeries [no; sv], Sweden 3:38:41 2013 Jørgen Aukland Team Xtra Personnel, Norway 3:50:49 2014 John Kristian Dahl Team United Bakeries [no; sv], Norway 4:14:33 2015 Petter Eliassen Team LeasePlan Go [no], Norway 4:01:48 2016 John Kristian Dahl Team United Bakeries [no; sv], Norway 4:08:00 2017 John Kristian Dahl Team United Bakeries [no; sv], Norway 3:57:18 2018 Andreas Nygaard [no] Norway 4:24:36 2019 Tore Bjørseth Berdal [no] Norway 4:39:15 2020 Petter Eliassen Norway 4:25:14 2021 Tord Asle Gjerdalen Norway 3:28:18 2022 Andreas Nygaard [no] Norway 3:32:18 2023 Emil Persson [sv] Sweden 3:37:43 2024 Torleif Syrstad [no] Norway 3:52:43

Women Year Name Club/Nation Time 1997 Sofia Lind Åsarna IK, Sweden 5:06:35 1998 Kerrin Petty IFK Mora, citizen of United States 4:17:02 1999 Sofia Lind Åsarna IK, Sweden 5:04:50 2000 Svetlana Nageykina Russia 4:52:35 2001 Ulrica Persson SK Bore, Sweden 4:31:05 2002 Svetlana Nageykina  Belarus 4:38:47 2003 Ulrica Persson SK Bore, Sweden 4:32:57 2004 Sofia Lind Åsarna IK, Sweden 4:20:28 2005 Sofia Lind Åsarna IK, Sweden 4:24:09 2006 Cristina Paluselli  Italy 4:59:24 2007 Elin Ek IFK Mora, Sweden 4:48:29 2008 Sandra Hansson Uddevalla IS, Sweden 4:47:16 2009 Sandra Hansson Uddevalla IS, Sweden 4:43:13 2010 Susanne Nyström IFK Mora, Sweden 4:33:07 2011 Jenny Hansson Östersunds SK [sv], Sweden 4:25:30 2012 Vibeke Skofterud Slitu IF, Norway 4:08:24 2013 Laila Kveli Lierne IL [no], Norway 4:22:22 2014 Laila Kveli Lierne IL [no], Norway 4:31:57 2015 Justyna Kowalczyk Poland 4:41:02 2016 Kateřina Smutná Czech Republic 4:17:56 2017 Britta Johansson Norgren Sollefteå SK, Sweden 4:19:43 2018 Lina Korsgren [sv] Åre Längdskidklubb, Swedensv 4:41:50 2019 Britta Johansson Norgren Sollefteå SK, Sweden 4:54:24 2020 Lina Korsgren [sv] Åre Längdskidklubb, Sweden 4:41:02 2021 Lina Korsgren [sv] Åre Längdskidklubb Sweden 3:52:08 2022 Astrid Øyre Slind Norway 3:50:06 2023 Emilie Fleten [no] Norway 4:04:08 2024 Emilie Fleten [no] Norway 4:23:06

Sister races

• Vasaloppet USA, held annually on the second Saturday of February in Mora, Minnesota, USA (prior to 2015, the race occurred annually on the second Sunday of February)
• Vasaloppet Japan, held in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, since 1981
• Chinese Vasaloppet, held in Changchun since 2003
• Botniavasan, Finland, since 2006
• Vasaloppet de la Sergerie, Jonquière, Quebec, Canada, since 2007
• Cykelvasan [sv], summer cycling race using the Vasaloppet course.

Notable participants

Prince Frederik of Denmark, 2012

Vasaloppet has been called a rite of passage for Swedes. Aside from the winners, some of the noted people who have completed the race are:

See also

In Spanish: Vasaloppet para niños

• Finlandia-hiihto
• List of Swedish sportspeople
• Skiing
• Tjejvasan
• Tourism in Sweden