ANNA SWENN-LARSSON

Anna Swenn-Larsson is a powerhouse of a skier, who spends her days bashing slalom gates on the FIS World Cup circuit for the Swedish alpine national team. Over her 15 years of top-level competition, she’s won two world championship medals and two World Cup races. Not bad for a girl who grew up skiing on a small hill of only 142 metres in her hometown of Rättvik, Sweden. Her career took off after she moved to the ski academy in Järpen, located close to Sweden’s biggest ski resort, Åre.

 In Åre, she eventually found her footing as a ski racer, but she also discovered a passion for the free side of skiing there, outside of the icy racing slopes. However, it wasn’t until after her days at the ski academy that she fell in love with the other side of the mountain. This happened when she met her boyfriend Mattias Rönngren, a fellow ski racer who also happened to be an avid freeskier. These days, when the racing season’s over, you’ll often find her ski touring and enjoying the mountains at a slower pace.

Most memorable skiing experiences?

My silver medal in slalom at the world championships in Åre in 2019 – stepping onto the podium on home soil was a truly special moment. And, of course, my World Cup win in Andorra in 2024, which was also in slalom. I had a shaky start to that season, both physically and mentally, and I’m incredibly proud that I was able to turn it all around and get my first proper World Cup win. I had a shared win from before, but this time I got to stand on top of the podium by myself for the first time.

Why did slalom become your main discipline?

 My hometown ski hill is quite short, and it looks steeper than it actually is when you see it from town. We used to train a lot of super-G and giant slalom when I grew up, but I can definitely see why I ended up being the most successful in the slalom discipline. These days, I have the best job in the world, as I get to travel the world just to ski as fast as I can between red and blue gates.

 What drives you to keep pushing for that next win?

 I love to win, and I hate to lose. That feeling of standing on top of the podium and knowing what it took to get there: all the hard work, all the tears, all the insecurities, and all the people who have stood behind me. In that moment, it’s all worth it. To be the best in the world. I guess it’s as simple as that, and I know that I have potential within me that’s still waiting to get out.”

 Do you want to explore the other side of skiing, outside of the racing courses?

 Absolutely, I’d love to do more touring and ski more powder. I get to do quite a lot of ski touring in the spring, when the race season is over, but it’s definitely something I want to do more of in the future. I’m very tempted to ski some really deep powder at some point. I haven’t done much of that yet. It’s something I rarely get to experience, because all the big snowstorms tend to happen during our most hectic training and competition periods, and we do everything in our power to be where it isn’t snowing.