Magdalena Forsberg

Magdalena "Magda" Forsberg (born 25 July 1967 as Magdalena Wallin) is a former Swedish cross-country skier and biathlete. She was the dominating female biathlete from 1997 to 2002, when she retired, winning the Biathlon World Cup for six years straight. She is also a six-times world champion, a two-times Olympic bronze medalist, and holds the record for the most World Cup victories in women's biathlon.

Magdalena Forsberg
Magdalena Forsberg during the Swedish Sports Awards in January 2014
Personal information
Birth nameMagdalena Wallin
Full nameMaria Magdalena Forsberg
Nickname(s)Magda
Born (1967-07-25) 25 July 1967
Ullånger, Västernorrland County, Sweden
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Professional information
SportBiathlon
ClubSundsvall Biathlon
World Cup debut8 December 1994
Retired24 March 2002
Olympic Games
Teams2 (1998, 2002)
Medals2 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams8 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
Medals12 (6 gold)
World Cup
Seasons8 (1994/95–2001/02)
Individual victories42
Individual podiums87
Overall titles6 (1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02)
Discipline titles17:
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)

She has been married to Henrik Forsberg, also a biathlete and cross-country skier, since mid-1996.[1]

Cross-country skiing

Forsberg competed as a cross country skier from 1988 to 1996, participating in the World Cup.[2] Her best results at the Winter Olympics were in Albertville in 1992 where she finished seventh in the 4 × 5 km relay and 26th in the 15 km event.

Forsberg's best individual finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was tenth in the 30 km event at Lahti in 1989. In 1987 she was in the Swedish team that finished third in the 4 × 5 km relay. Her best World cup finish was second in a 10 km event in Finland in 1988.

She participated as a celebrity dancer in Let's Dance 2019, which was broadcast on TV4.[3] She placed second.

Biathlon

Competing from 1993 to 2002, Forsberg won six straight overall wins in the Biathlon World Cup from 1997 to 2002. She also won six gold medals in the World Championships, became runner-up once, and placed third five times. At the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, Forsberg won two bronze medals. In her career she managed a total of 42 individual Biathlon World Cup wins, which is more than any other female biathlete to date.

Magdalena Forsberg retired from active sports after the 2001–02 season. After being retired for four years she made a temporary comeback in April 2006 due to losing a bet. The bet said Forsberg would enter the Swedish Championship in Women's Relay with fellow biathlon skier Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek if the latter won an Olympic gold in Turin.[4] The duo went on to win the competition, Forsberg outrunning her competitors in the first leg and Olofsson extending their lead in the second.[5][6]

During large parts of her career, Forsberg was trained by Wolfgang Pichler, who later took over as coach of the national Swedish biathlon team.

Other honours

Forsberg competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics both as a biathlete and as a cross country skier. She is the only Swedish athlete to have been awarded the Jerring Award four times.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.[7]

Olympic Games

2 medals (2 bronze)

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Relay
1998 Nagano 14th 17th N/A 10th
2002 Salt Lake City Bronze Bronze 6th —
*Pursuit was added as an event in 2002.

World Championships

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

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Team Relay
1995 Antholz-Anterselva 7th 19th N/A N/A — 14th
1996 Ruhpolding 15th Bronze N/A N/A 9th 10th
1997 Brezno-Osrblie Gold Bronze Gold N/A 11th 16th
1998 Pokljuka N/A N/A Gold N/A 7th N/A
1999 Kontiolahti 6th Silver 5th Bronze N/A —
2000 Oslo Holmenkollen Bronze 4th Gold 4th N/A 13th
2001 Pokljuka Gold 6th Bronze Gold N/A —
2002 Oslo Holmenkollen N/A N/A N/A 8th N/A N/A
*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
**Team was removed as an event in 1998, and pursuit was added in 1997 with mass start being added in 1999.

Individual victories

42 victories (7 In, 13 Sp, 19 Pu, 3 MS)

Season Date Location Discipline Level
1994–95
1 victory
(1 Sp)		28 January 1995 Ruhpolding7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1995–96
1 victory
(1 In)		14 December 1995 Oslo Holmenkollen15 km individualBiathlon World Cup
1996–97
4 victories
(1 In, 1 Sp, 2 Pu)		4 January 1997 Oberhof7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
5 January 1997 Oberhof10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
2 February 1997 Brezno-Osrblie10 km pursuitBiathlon World Championships
7 February 1997 Brezno-Osrblie15 km individualBiathlon World Championships
1997–98
6 victories
(1 In, 3 Sp, 2 Pu)		13 December 1997 Östersund7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
20 December 1997 Kontiolahti10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
8 January 1998 Ruhpolding7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
3 March 1998 Pokljuka15 km individualBiathlon World Cup
7 March 1998 Pokljuka7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
8 March 1998 Pokljuka10 km pursuitBiathlon World Championships
1998–99
4 victories
(2 Sp, 2 Pu)		11 December 1998 Hochfilzen7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
12 December 1998 Hochfilzen10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
25 February 1999 Lake Placid7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
6 March 1999 Valcartier10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
1999–2000
3 victories
(1 Sp, 2 Pu)		9 December 1999 Pokljuka7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
20 February 2000 Oslo Holmenkollen10 km pursuitBiathlon World Championships
18 March 2000 Khanty-Mansiysk10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
2000–01
14 victories
(2 In, 4 Sp, 6 Pu, 2 MS)		8 December 2000 Antholz-Anterselva10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
16 December 2000 Antholz-Anterselva7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
17 December 2000 Antholz-Anterselva10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
5 January 2001 Oberhof7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
6 January 2001 Oberhof10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
7 January 2001 Oberhof12.5 km mass startBiathlon World Cup
13 January 2001 Ruhpolding7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
14 January 2001 Ruhpolding10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
18 January 2001 Antholz-Anterselva7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
6 February 2001 Pokljuka15 km individualBiathlon World Championships
9 February 2001 Pokljuka12.5 km mass startBiathlon World Championships
28 February 2001 Salt Lake City15 km individualBiathlon World Cup
3 March 2001 Salt Lake City10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
17 March 2001 Oslo Holmenkollen10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
2001–02
9 victories
(2 In, 1 Sp, 5 Pu, 1 MS)		6 December 2001 Hochfilzen7.5 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
9 December 2001 Hochfilzen10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
12 December 2001 Pokljuka15 km individualBiathlon World Cup
16 December 2001 Pokljuka10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
20 December 2001 Brezno-Osrblie15 km individualBiathlon World Cup
22 December 2001 Brezno-Osrblie12.5 km mass startBiathlon World Cup
11 January 2002 Oberhof10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
10 March 2002 Östersund10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
23 March 2002 Oslo Holmenkollen10 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
*Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.

Cross-country skiing results
World Cup career
Seasons1988–1994
Individual wins0
Team wins0
Indiv. podiums1
Team podiums2
Indiv. starts31
Team starts5
Overall titles0 – (17th in 1989)

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[8]

Olympic Games
 Year   Age   5 km   15 km  Pursuit   30 km  4 × 5 km 
 relay 
199226—26—347
199832————8

World Championships
  • 1 medal – (1 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km  10 km
 classical 		  10 km
 freestyle 		  15 km  20 km  30 km  4 × 5 km 
 relay 
198719——N/AN/A—N/ABronze
198921N/A18—17N/A104
199123—N/A——N/A—6

World Cup

Season standings
 Season   Age  Overall
19882120
19892217
19902321
19912429
199225NC
19932655
199427NC

Individual podiums
  • 1 podium
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1 1987–88 27 March 1988 Rovaniemi, Finland10 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd

Team podiums
  • 2 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates
1 1986–87 17 February 1987 Oberstdorf, West Germany4 × 5 km Relay FWorld Championships[1]3rdLamberg-Skog / Dahlman / Westin
2 1988–89 12 March 1989 Falun, Sweden4 × 5 km Relay CWorld Cup3rdSvingstedt / Lamberg-Skog / Fritzon

Note: 1 Until the 1999 World Championships, World Championship races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

References
  • "IBU Profile of Magdalena Forsberg". International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  • "Jerringpriset: Pristagare sedan 1979". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  1. Anders Engman (10 February 2002). "Forsberg har alltid varit på jakt" (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  2. "Magdalena Forsberg". FIS. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  3. Let's Dance 2019 deltagare TV4.se Retrieved 4 March 2019
  4. "Magda tävlar igen - i SM" [Magda will race again - in the SM] (in Swedish). Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  5. "Magda och ACO fixade väntat guld" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  6. "STAFETT Resultat" (PDF) (in Swedish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  7. "Magdalena Forsberg". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  8. "Athlete : FORSBERG WALLIN Magdelena". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 30 March 2018.

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