Vasaloppet 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.
Mora is a locality and the seat of Mora Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 10,896 inhabitants in 2010.
Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, usually abbreviated IFK, is a central organisation for many sports clubs in Sweden. There are also eight IFK clubs in Finland but they are organised separately. The Swedish IFK was founded 1 February 1895 and has 164 member clubs with around 100,000 members as of 2004. The best known IFK club in football is probably the one in Gothenburg, IFK Göteborg, which won the UEFA Cup twice in the 1980s. In ice hockey, the most successful IFK club is IFK Helsingfors from Helsinki, which have won the Finnish championship seven times.
Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg, commonly known as IFK Göteborg, is a Swedish multisports club located in Gothenburg. It was established on 4 October 1904, and today functions as an alliance association for seven separate clubs competing in different sports. The club is best known for its professional football team, one of the most successful in the Nordic countries.
Ole Martin Ellefsæter was a Norwegian athlete. He mostly competed in cross-country skiing, and won two gold medals at the 1968 Winter Olympics. At the 1966 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships he won one gold and one silver (15 km) medal, and in 1971 he became the first Norwegian to win Vasaloppet.
Nils Emanuel Karlsson, better known as Mora-Nisse, was a Swedish cross-country skier. Karlsson won gold in the 50 km event at the 1948 Winter Olympics and nine Vasaloppet victories.
Bernt Assar Rönnlund was a Swedish cross-country skier. Rönnlund's biggest success was at the 1962 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Zakopane where he won two gold medals and a silver (50 km). As a result, he earned the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal that year for his championship successes. Rönnlund was the anchorman of the Swedish 4 × 10 km relay team at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, bringing the team from fourth place to victory. Rönnlund also won the Vasaloppet in 1967 and the 50 km event at the Holmenkollen ski festival twice. For his cross-country skiing successes, Rönnlund was awarded the Holmenkollen Medal in 1968.
Sven-Åke Lundbäck is a former Swedish cross-country skier. He competed at the 1972, 1976 and 1980 Olympics in the 15 km, 30 km and 4 × 10 km events and won a gold medal over 15 km in 1972. He was close to a bronze medal in the 4 × 10 km relay in 1972, but fell near the finish; he had another fourth place in the relay in 1980.
Tord Asle Gjerdalen is a Norwegian cross-country skier
John Kristian Dahl is a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed between 2001 and 2019. His best World Cup finish was second, three times between 2003 and 2008, all in the sprint event.
Tjejvasan is a cross-country skiing event in Sweden, running from Oxberg to Mora, a distance of 30 kilometers. It is only open to female skiers. Being annual, the first event was first held in 1988.
Elin Ek,, is a Swedish cross-country skier. She participated at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. Elin won the Tjejvasan in 1999 and 2006. and the Vasaloppet main women's event in 2007. She also won the women's Worldloppet in the 2006/2007 season.
Henrik Eriksson,, is a Swedish former cross-country skier. When it came to club competitions, he competed for IFK Mora SK. Competing at elite level between 1994 and 2006, he participated at Vasaloppet several times, winning the event in 2001. In Vasaloppet 2002, he ended up ninth and Vasaloppet in 2004 he ended up tenth.
Susanne Nyström, born 29 December 1982 in Laisvall, Sweden is a Swedish female cross-country skier and nurse.
Lars-Arne Bölling, born Lars Arne Torsten 6 October 1944 in Sörsjön, Sweden, is a Swedish former cross-country skier competing for IFK Mora and Orsa IF at club level. He won Vasaloppet in 1970 and 1972. He became Swedish national champion in the 15 kilometers race in 1970, and in the 1973 30 kilometers race as well as the 1970 and 1971 50 kilometers races. He was also part of the IFK Mora team winning the Swedish national relay championship in 1970-1973, and in 1974 he won the same relay title with Orsa IF.
Lars Frykberg is a Swedish former cross-country skier. He won Vasaloppet in 1982, while competing for IFK Mora. in a competition where Jean-Paul Pierrat from France first reached the finish, but was disqualified for changing skis.
A kranskulla is a Swedish woman appointed annually to give the winner of the skiing competition Vasaloppet a laurel victory wreath by hanging it around his neck. A man doing the same task for women winners is called kransmas.
IFK Hedemora is a Swedish sports club in Hedemora practicing football, cross-country skiing, and orienteering.
Lennart Nyman was a Swedish football coach and sports administrator, best known for being the first ever manager of the Sweden national team between 1962 and 1965. He was also the chairman of multi-sport club Hammarby IF for 25 years, the longest-serving in its history.
