Anja Pärson

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Anja Pärson Alpine skiing
Anja Pärson 2013
Anja Pärson 2013
nation SwedenSweden Sweden
birthday 25th April 1981 (age 40)
place of birth Umeå , Sweden
size 170 cm
Weight 82 kg
Career
discipline Downhill , super-G , giant slalom ,
slalom , combination
society Tärna IK Fjällvinden
status resigned
End of career March 15, 2012
Medal table
Olympic games 1 × gold 1 × silver 4 × bronze
World championships 7 × gold 2 × silver 4 × bronze
Junior World Championships 4 × gold 0 × silver 2 × bronze
Olympic rings winter Olympics
silver Salt Lake City 2002 Giant slalom
bronze Salt Lake City 2002 slalom
gold Turin 2006 slalom
bronze Turin 2006 Departure
bronze Turin 2006 combination
bronze Vancouver 2010 combination
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
gold St. Anton 2001 slalom
bronze St. Anton 2001 Giant slalom
gold St. Moritz 2003 Giant slalom
gold Santa Caterina 2005 Super G
gold Santa Caterina 2005 Giant slalom
silver Santa Caterina 2005 combination
gold Are 2007 Departure
gold Are 2007 Super G
gold Are 2007 Super combination
silver Are 2007 team
bronze Are 2007 slalom
bronze Garmisch-Partenk. 2011 Super combination
bronze Garmisch-Partenk. 2011 team
FIS Alpine Ski Junior World Championships
gold Megève 1998 Giant slalom
bronze Megève 1998 slalom
gold Pra Loup 1999 slalom
gold Québec 2000 Giant slalom
gold Québec 2000 slalom
bronze Québec 2000 Super G
Placements in the Alpine Ski World Cup
 Individual World Cup debut March 15, 1998
 Individual world cup victories 42
 Overall World Cup 1. ( 2003/04 , 2004/05 )
 Downhill World Cup 3rd ( 2009/10 )
 Super G World Cup 4. (2004/05, 2008/09 )
 Giant Slalom World Cup 1. ( 2002/03 , 2003/04,
2005/06 )
 Slalom World Cup 1st (2003/04)
 Combination World Cup 1. (2008/09)
 Podium placements 1. 2. 3.
 Departure 6th 3 6th
 Super G 4th 4th 2
 Giant slalom 11 11 6th
 slalom 17th 9 7th
 combination 3 3 2
 Knockout race 1 0 0
 

Anja Sofia Tess Pärson (born April 25, 1981 in Umeå ) is a former Sami - Swedish ski racer . She won an Olympic gold medal , seven world championship titles and twice the overall ranking of the Alpine Ski World Cup . Pärson is one of seven athletes who have won World Cup races in all five disciplines . She is also the only one so far to have become world champion in all disciplines. Only the German Christl Cranz won more world championship medals than she did in the 1930s.

biography

Junior period

Anja Pärson - a member of the Sami people - grew up in Tärnaby , the birthplace of Ingemar Stenmark . Along with Vreni Schneider, this is one of her role models. She learned to ski at the age of three and soon won races against competitors who were several years older than her. Father Anders Pärson recognized his daughter's talent early on and began to train her; for a long time he was part of her coaching staff.

In 1996, Parson won all three Whistler Cup competitions in her age group . In November of the same year she took part in FIS races for the first time. After she was noticed with good performances, she found acceptance in the Swedish national team. Appearances in the European Cup followed from December 1997. Already in her first season 1997/98 she won two European Cup races and won the giant slalom classification . At the Junior World Championships in 1998 she won the gold medal in giant slalom and the bronze medal in slalom .

1998 to 2002

On 25 March 1998, a month before her 17th birthday, Paerson debuted in Ski World Cup , the giant slalom in Crans-Montana : You drove in 25th place, but for which there was no World Cup points since the World Cup finals , only the top 15 (instead of 30 ) get ranked. She finally got her first World Cup points at the beginning of the next season on October 24, 1998 in Sölden (13th place). Already at her fifth World Cup race, the slalom in Mammoth Mountain on December 3, 1998, Pärson celebrated, still with a high starting number. 36 (the second highest winner number in the women's slalom behind No. 42 by Renate Götschl ) her first victory, whereby she was ranked 15th in the first run (thus the greatest improvement in rank in this respect as well). She took part in the 1999 World Championships , but did not finish in two races. On the other hand, she was one of the most successful athletes at the Junior World Championships in 1999 and 2000 with a total of two gold and bronze medals.

In the 1999/2000 season Pärson remained without a win in a World Cup race, but was on the podium four times. The 2000/01 season was similar, with six podium finishes. But at the 2001 World Championships in St. Anton am Arlberg , she was able to win the gold medal in slalom; Added to this was third place in the giant slalom. In December 2001, Pärson's second victory in a World Cup followed. Although she won another three slaloms in the 2001/02 season , she could not secure victory in the slalom discipline due to several failures. At her first Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002 , Pärson finished second in giant slalom and third in slalom.

In the first years of her career, Pärson almost exclusively competed in slalom and giant slalom races and developed into one of the top riders in the “technical” disciplines. In the 2002/03 season she expanded her repertoire and regularly took part in Super G races as part of the World Cup , and from 2003/04 also in downhill runs . Gradually, Pärson developed more and more into an all-rounder. On December 15, 2002, she won a so-called "knockout slalom" in Sestriere (the only one in World Cup history).

2003 to 2006

In 2003 Pärson won World Cup giant slaloms for the first time. With a total of three wins and three further placements in the first five ranks, she narrowly decided the giant slalom discipline ranking for herself - she was only one point ahead of second-placed Italian Karen Putzer . At the 2003 World Championships in St. Moritz , Pärson prevailed far more clearly in the giant slalom and won the gold medal with a large lead of 1.55 seconds over the Italian Denise Karbon ; in the slalom it was enough to place four.

The 2003/04 World Cup season was Pärsons most successful. She won six slaloms and five giant slaloms. This season she also managed to win four slaloms and four giant slaloms in a row. She was able to celebrate some of these victories with a lead of over a second. In the overall World Cup, she fought a duel with the Austrian Renate Götschl , who was similarly successful in the speed disciplines. But in the end, Pärson's gradual shift to the fast disciplines began to pay off, as she got the decisive advantage out of it. In addition to winning the overall ranking, she also won the slalom and giant slalom rankings.

In the 2004/05 season , Pärson only managed one victory in slalom and giant slalom. For this she won her first race in the Super-G and Downhill disciplines in February 2005, on 25/26. February 2005 in San Sicario. In addition to her driving skills, she also benefited from her enormous strength and increasing body mass in the fast disciplines, especially in the flat gliding passages. The main competitor this time was the Croatian Janica Kostelić , who intervened again after a year off injury. Before that, at the 2005 World Championships in Santa Caterina , all gold medals had gone to either Kostelić or Pärson: While the Croatian was victorious in the downhill, slalom and combined , the Swede (surprisingly) won the Super-G and, as the defending champion, the Giant slalom; in the combination she came second. The decision about the overall World Cup was made in the last race of the season. Pärson finally won the overall World Cup for the second time in a row with only three points ahead of Kostelić; it was the smallest lead since 1978/79 with a three-point difference (at that time, however, with fewer points awarded). In the individual discipline ratings, however, Pärson could not record any victory.

In the 2005/06 season Kostelić prevailed before Pärson in the overall World Cup. The Swede, on the other hand, achieved eight wins in four different disciplines and she also won the giant slalom discipline. At the 2006 Winter Olympics , Pärson had a chance of winning all races. First she was third in the downhill and third in the combination. In the end, she won the gold medal in the slalom ahead of the Austrians Nicole Hosp and Marlies Schild . For this achievement she was honored with the Svenska Dagbladet gold medal.

2007 to 2012

Anja Pärson, at the end of 2006

In the 2006/07 season, Pärson was unable to match the performance of previous years because of a knee operation that she had to undergo due to excessive stress. Without having won a World Cup race, she traveled to the 2007 World Championships in Åre . There, however, she surprised her competition and celebrated the greatest successes of her career: Pärson won the gold medal in the downhill, in the super G and in the super combined, as well as the silver medal in the team competition and the bronze medal in the slalom. Only in the giant slalom, in which she was in seventh place with just 0.44 seconds on the leader Julia Mancuso , was she eliminated in her race to catch up due to a fall. - In 2007 Pärson was again honored with the Svenska Dagbladet gold medal; besides Björn Borg and Ingemar Stenmark, she is the only person to have received this award twice.

With the victory in the super combined on March 9, 2008 in Crans-Montana , Pärson became only the fourth runner in World Cup history to join those who have won in all five disciplines . In addition to her, at the time they were Petra Kronberger , Pernilla Wiberg and Janica Kostelić , Lindsey Vonn has also been one of these runners since 2012, Tina Maze since 2013 and Mikaela Shiffrin since 2018 .

The 2009 World Championship was rather disappointing for Pärson given the good results during the World Cup season. In Val-d'Isère , she did not get past a ninth place in the slalom. One week after the World Cup, however, she secured victory in this World Cup discipline in the super combination of Tarvisio . In April 2009, Parson announced in a TV interview that she would end her career after the 2009/10 Olympic season - which did not happen.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics , Pärson won the bronze medal in the super combination on February 18 . This success came as a surprise because she had had a bad fall on the special descent the day before: On the finish jump, driving towards a safe medal, she had flown over 60 meters through the air and hit the piste hard, only sustaining numerous bruises. After the 2009/10 season , in which she finished third in the overall ranking of the World Cup and won one race - a combination - Pärsön announced that she would continue her career. Previously, there was speculation about the end of her career.

The 2010/11 season began disappointingly for Pärson: By the turn of the year, a 6th place in the Lake Louise Downhill was her best result. In 2011, however, it was able to improve and achieved two podiums and several top 10 placements. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen , she won the bronze medal in the super combined and in the team competition . On March 5, 2011, she won the downhill from Tarvisio. It was her first World Cup victory in over a year and her first downhill victory in over two years.

In the 2011/12 season , in which she almost no longer competed in slaloms and giant slaloms, Pärson could no longer keep up with the absolute top of the world due to health problems due to cartilage damage in her left knee. She was just under the top ten in six World Cup races that winter and announced before the World Cup final in Schladming that she would end her career at the end of the season. In her last World Cup race on March 15, 2012, exactly 14 years after her World Cup debut, she finished eighth in the Super-G - the best result of her last World Cup season.

Records

Pärson's record in the World Cup, World Championships and Olympic Games underlines her versatility and her exceptional position: At the Olympic Games between 2002 and 2010, she won six medals in four different disciplines, something that only Janica Kostelić had achieved before. In addition, she won titles at world championships in all disciplines - slalom, giant slalom, super-G, downhill and super-combined - as the only female athlete to date. Pärson is also the only woman to date who has managed to win at least three World Cup races in each individual discipline.

With seven gold medals at the Alpine World Ski Championships in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007, Pärson is also one of the most successful World Cup participants of all time, behind the German Christl Cranz and together with the French Marielle Goitschel . Alongside the Croatian Janica Kostelić , she is the most successful all-rounder at major events: from the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City to the 2007 World Championships in Åre, both skiers won 17 out of a total of 25 gold medals.

Pärson is currently in sixth place with 18 victories in the all-time slalom World Cup list. In front of her are Mikaela Shiffrin with 40, Marlies Schild with 35, Vreni Schneider with 34, Erika Hess with 21 and Janica Kostelić with 20 slalom victories. In her career, Pärson was able to win eleven giant slaloms in the World Cup and three times the giant slalom World Cup rankings. This makes her one of the most successful runners in history in this discipline as well.

In addition, Pärson achieved eleven wins in one season ( 2003/04 ) as one of four athletes , which so far only Lindsey Vonn ( 2009/10 ), Annemarie Moser-Pröll ( 1974/75 ), Tina Maze ( 2012/13 ) and Mikaela Shiffrin ( 2016/17 ) achieved. Only Shiffrin achieved more victories of the season with 17 wins in the 2018/19 season , Vreni Schneider with 14 wins ( 1988/89 ) and Lindsey Vonn ( 2011/12 ) and Shiffrin with 12 wins in the 2017/18 season .

In the ranking of the top 10 places in world cup races, Pärson is currently in third place behind Lindsey Vonn and Renate Götschl . Vonn has finished 214 times in the top ten, Götschl 198 times, Pärson 196 times.

miscellaneous

Pärson moved to Monaco in 2003 - for tax reasons, but also to escape the Swedish tabloids. Nevertheless, she had to pay a tax debt of 7.9 million crowns (approx. 860,000 euros). "She could not live with the feeling that she was a tax evasion," said Pärson in the February 17, 2004 edition of the newspaper " Expressen ". The tax authorities had asked her to pay tax on income from her sports career before moving to Monte-Carlo that an agency had deposited for them in the Isle of Man tax haven . She did her summer training mainly in Monaco and in Switzerland . In 2008, she announced that she would be stepping down after the 2010 Winter Olympics . However, after the 2009/2010 season, she decided to continue her career.

Pärson's trademark was the " belly splash " with which she celebrated her victories. She took a short run, threw herself to the ground and slid across the target area on her stomach with outstretched arms and legs. In her free time, Pärson, whose nickname is “Sweden Bomb”, is an athlete ambassador for the development aid organization Right To Play . Pärson is a member of the FIS Athletes Commission.

In June 2012, in a radio interview, Pärson publicly admitted her homosexuality and her five-year relationship with her friend. She also announced that she was expecting a child. Pärson's partner gave birth to a son on July 4, 2012. The couple married on August 2, 2014.

successes

Anja Pärson at the slalom in Aspen, November 2006

Olympic games

World championships

Junior World Championships

World Cup ratings

Anja Pärson has won the overall World Cup twice (2004, 2005). There are also five victories in discipline ratings.

season total Departure Super G Giant slalom slalom combination City event
place Points place Points place Points place Points place Points place Points place Points
1998/99 12th 566 - - - - 12th 192 3. 374 - - - -
1999/00 8th. 704 - - 39. 28 15th 177 3. 499 - - - -
2000/01 11. 643 - - - - 2. 408 10. 235 - - - -
2001/02 5. 840 - - - - 3. 360 3. 480 - - - -
2002/03 3. 1042 - - 34. 30th 1. 514 2. 498 - - - -
2003/04 1. 1561 42. 17th 15th 144 1. 630 1. 770 - - - -
2004/05 1. 1359 8th. 209 4th 359 2. 410 6th 301 2. 80 - -
2005/06 2. 1662 7th 249 9. 182 1. 586 3. 485 2. 160 - -
2006/07 5. 885 4th 293 6th 202 13th 152 12th 188 14th 50 - -
2007/08 6th 973 4th 331 7th 246 15th 118 15th 118 3. 160 - -
2008/09 3. 1059 7th 220 4th 251 16. 140 10. 243 1. 205 - -
2009/10 3. 1047 3. 385 7th 221 10. 179 16. 112 2. 150 - -
2010/11 8th. 656 5. 295 5. 182 25th 52 37. 27 6th 100 - -
2011/12 32. 260 28. 55 21. 108 39. 27 - - 9. 55 9. 15th

World Cup victories

Anja Pärson has won a total of 42 world cup races (6 × downhill, 4 × super-G, 11 × giant slalom, 18 × slalom, 3 × super combination) and achieved a total of 95 podium places (42 × first, 30 × second, 23 × third) .

Downhill (6 ×)

date place country
February 26, 2005 San Sicario Italy
January 13, 2006 Bad Kleinkirchheim Austria
March 15, 2006 Are Sweden
December 15, 2007 St. Moritz Switzerland
January 18, 2009 Altenmarkt-Zauchensee Austria *
March 5, 2011 Tarvisio Italy

* at the same time as Dominique Gisin

Super-G (4 ×)

date place country
February 25, 2005 San Sicario Italy
January 27, 2006 Cortina d'Ampezzo Italy
March 15, 2007 Lenzerheide Switzerland
December 16, 2007 St. Moritz Switzerland

Giant slalom (11 ×)

date place country
December 19, 2003 Cortina d'Ampezzo Italy
January 25, 2003 Maribor Slovenia
March 6, 2003 Are Sweden
November 28, 2003 Park City United States
January 24, 2004 Maribor Slovenia
February 7, 2004 Zwiesel Germany
February 21, 2004 Are Sweden
March 14, 2004 Sestriere Italy
October 23, 2004 Soelden Austria
December 28, 2005 Lienz Austria
February 4, 2006 Often swing Germany *

* at the same time as María José Rienda

Slalom (18 ×, including knockout slalom *)

date place country
December 3, 1998 Mammoth Mountain United States
December 9, 2001 Sestriere Italy
December 29, 2001 Lienz Austria
January 5, 2002 Maribor Slovenia
January 6, 2002 Maribor Slovenia
November 30, 2002 Aspen United States
December 15, 2002 * Sestriere Italy
January 26, 2003 Maribor Slovenia
November 29, 2003 Park City United States
December 16, 2003 Madonna di Campiglio Italy
December 28, 2003 Lienz Austria
January 5, 2004 Megève France
January 25, 2004 Maribor Slovenia
February 8, 2004 Zwiesel Germany
January 23, 2005 Maribor Slovenia
December 11, 2005 Aspen United States
December 22, 2005 Špindlerův Mlýn Czech Republic
March 11, 2006 Levi Finland

Super combination (3 ×)

date place country
March 9, 2008 Crans-Montana Switzerland
December 19, 2008 St. Moritz Switzerland
January 29, 2010 St. Moritz Switzerland

European Cup

Anja Pärson in Monaco, May 2006
  • Season 1997/98 : 3rd overall, 1st giant slalom rating
  • 6 podium places, including 2 wins:
date place country discipline
January 25, 1998 Rogla Slovenia Giant slalom
February 21, 1998 Abetone Italy Giant slalom

More Achievements

  • Anja Pärson is a ten-time Swedish champion :
    • Departure: 2001, 2003 and 2010
    • Giant slalom: 1998, 2003 and 2005
    • Slalom: 2005
    • Combination: 2000, 2001 and 2003
  • 18 victories in FIS races (9 × slalom, 7 × giant slalom, 2 × Super-G)

source

Web links

Commons : Anja Pärson  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ VM med samer i centrum. www.samer.se, February 26, 2007, accessed September 20, 2011.
  2. ↑ Anja Pärson wants to quit after the Olympic season , Kronen Zeitung, April 20, 2009
  3. ↑ Giant return of the Swede - Pärson storms to bronze after a horror fall , rp-online.de, February 19, 2010
  4. ↑ Anja Pärson kör sin sista världscuptävling in Schladming. ( Memento of April 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Swedish Ski Association, March 12, 2012, accessed March 12, 2012 (Swedish).
  5. ↑ Pärson resigns in Schladming. sport.orf.at, March 12, 2012, accessed on March 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ Pernilla Wiberg has a lot of money going on. derStandard.at , February 26, 2004, accessed on February 2, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Alpine skiing: Pärson continues - winter sports - FOCUS Online
  8. ↑ Victory is on your stomach , Der Standard , January 1, 2008
  9. ↑ Götschl beaten, Pärson wins 3rd gold ( memento from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), sportlive.at, February 11, 2007
  10. ^ FIS Athletes Commission - Members. ( Memento of November 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) International Ski Association, accessed on March 15, 2012.
  11. ↑ Pärson in relationship with a woman , skiweltcup.tv, June 23, 2012
  12. ↑ World Cup Ski Racer Anja Paerson Announces She's a Lesbian and Pregnant
  13. ↑ Anja Pärson fick en son dn.se, July 6, 2012
  14. ↑ Queer.de : Skiing legend Anja Pärson marries her partner
personal data
SURNAME Parson, Anja
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pärson, Anja Sofia Tess (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Sami-Swedish ski racer
DATE OF BIRTH April 25, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH Umeå , Sweden