This is a chronicle about how the Swedish ski federation has managed to ruin the value of one of the strongest trademarks in winter sport; Ski Team Sweden Alpine.

Sweden’s alpine racing legacy goes way back, and met its peak in the 1980s. At that time, Ingemar Stenmark ruled the alpine world. Winning world cup titles on an everyday basis. Second best in slalom behind Ingemar was his neighbor and schoolmate from Tärnaby, Stig Strand. Both born in 1956.

Who remembers Ingemar’s five-year younger cousin Bengt Fjällberg? He struck the podium in slalom at the 1982 world championship in Schladming. Earning the bronze medal. In 1983, the Ski Team Sweden Alpine was by far the best in the world.

Imagine the feeling of being top three in the world but fighting to reach the podium at the local club championship.

Hard training pays off

This was the fruit of hard training, of course. But also to the fact that the boys from Tärnaby lived right by the foot of the ski hill. Supported by the older generation skiers, and able to go skiing as soon the school day was over. Not to mention the legendary Italian ski coach Herman Nogler. He was responsible for the training of the young swedes.

World cup events in Sweden were arranged not only in Åre, but also in Tärnaby and Gällivare. Behind these lads from Tärnaby, youngsters from around the country lined up to challenge them in the Ski Team Sweden alpine.

Some called it the Stenmark effect, but it was not.

The truth is that this was the effect of urbanization. The second generation skiers, such as Bengt-Erik Grahn, leading the movement in Stockholm. Bengt-Erik was another son of Tärnaby. And he was just a couple of turns away from winning the 1966 Slalom world championship in Portillo/Chile. When he DNF in the second run.

The same happened two years later at the 1968 Slalom Olympics in Grenoble. Bengt-Erik was perhaps the best non-victorious skier from Sweden ever, and the most unfortunate. Ever since then, young boys near a ski slope have nursed a dream to become a victorious ski racer.

Bengt-Erik and many others from the Swedish inland moved to the cities in the late 1960s for studies. Bringing their ski passion with them.

The fact is that the next-generation skiers. Born in the 60s, we’re already in training by Bengt-Erik and others like him, when Ingemar was winning his first world cup event in Madonna di Campiglio back in 1974.

Less known boys stood in the shadow of the great Ingemar. Each of them performed ski results that the today’s Ski Team Sweden Alpine just can dream of as they’re sliding down their chosen slippery slope.

Just to mention a few winners, you might have forgotten

• Jonas Nilsson, born in 1963, won two slalom world cup events, one in 1985 and one in 1990. And moreover, he is the 1985 year’s world slalom champion in Bormio
• Niklas Henning, born in 1964, winning a world cup in Super-G in 1989
• Johan Wallner, born in 1965, won a world cup event in Slalom back in 1986. Earning two world championship podiums in a row in Giant Slalom, 1991 & 1993
• Lars-Börje “Bulan” Eriksson, born in 1966. Won two world cup events in 1989, one in Super-G and one in Giant Slalom. On top of that, he holds the 1988 Olympic bronze medal from Calgary in Super-G
• Fredrik Nyberg, born in 1969. Winning no less than 7 world cup events between 1990-2001. Six of them in Giant Slalom and one in Super-G
• Patrik Järbyn, also born in 1969. He made the podium in the world championship 1996 in Super-G, earning the silver medal and once again in 2007 in Åre earning the bronze medal in Downhill.

All these guys except from Jonas Nilsson were not much in to slalom.

They excelled in Giant Slalom and the downhill disciplines.

1989-1990 was the year when the Ski Team Sweden Alpine stood at its prime

No less than five different athletes made the top position in a world cup event within a year. Two in Super-G, two in GS and one in slalom. Starting with Lars-Börje “Bulan” Eriksson in Aspen, winning the Super-G the 18th of Feb 1989.

The day after, Ingemar made his 86th and final victory in a world cup event, winning the GS with “Bulan” joining him on the podium in 3rd place.

During the 1989 summer tour in Australia, “Bulan” once again stood on top, This happened on the 11th of August in Thredbo, winning the GS.

The same year, 10th of December in Val d’Isère, Niklas Henning made an outstanding Super-G run, winning the event coming in from behind with bib number 35.

In January 1990, Jonas Nilsson won the slalom in Kranjska-Gora. And finally, In March 1990, Fredrik Nyberg kick-started his long carrier with his first victory in the Veysonnaz GS. Numerous podiums and top ten positions were taken. The Ski Team Sweden Alpine was on fire.

Looking back in the mirror. Judge from the behavior of the Swedish ski federation, this was not fancy enough for them.

No one of the above-mentioned stars was later picked up in the staff of trainers or board of experts on the men’s team. Strange, because these guys know how to set the skis into a winning turn at full speed.

They also had at that time a fresh memory of standing in the start gate in Kitzbühel, Wengen and all other starting gates around the world. That’s knowledge you don’t learn in school.

That kind of experience has to be passed on from skier to skier, generation to generation.

Swedish ski federation searching for the new Ingemar

Swedish male skiers born in the 1970s were, as it seems, only reworded a spot in the prime Ski Team Sweden Alpine for their slalom skills.

I can’t see any serious attempt to find and support any inheritor to the speed seekers born in the 1960s, despite their solid performance and success in both everyday world cup as in the championships. The only success for Swedish skiers born in the 1970s, in the “Stenmark era” was in the slalom discipline.

Thomas Fogdö, born in 1970, made the winning spot in a world cup event five times between 1991 and 1993, crowning his carrier with the slalom cup victory in 1993.

Sadly, Thomas broke his back during a training session in Åre 1995, paralyzed him, ending his ski carrier. Losing Thomas was a huge setback for the Ski Team Sweden Alpine, he was their golden boy, the heir of Ingemar, and there was no one behind.

Except, there was still Fredrik Nyberg, winning Giant Slalom podiums on a weekly basis. He did even gather world cup points regularly in Downhill and Super-G with results blending out today’s men’s national slalom team. Well, how cares abut Giant Slalom, Downhill and Super-G? Everybody except the Swedish ski federation, it seems.

This is a very odd fact, as Ingemar Stenmark was more successful in Giant Slalom than in slalom.

The Dark ages of alpine skiing begins

After Fogdö’s accident, there was a sort of crises in the Swedish Ski federation in terms of male athletes. When it comes to slalom, anyway.

Both Fredrik Nyberg and Patrik Järbyn kept carrying the Swedish alpine heritage on their backs. With non or poor support from the staff of officials. What they were doing (Giant Slalom and Speed disciplines) was not in line with the mindset of the staff at the federation headquarters.

Except from Tomas Fogdö, no other male skier born in the 1970s won a single world cup event in the 90s.

The tunnel vision of the officials at the Swedish ski federation

Focusing on the Slalom discipline, executed poorly to say the least. So much for the Stenmark effect. The 90s was instead full focus on the ladies, with Pernilla Wiberg and Ylva Nowén (both born 1970 and at the same age as Fogdö).

Pernilla dominating the slopes, almost as Ingemar did back in the late 70s. Ylva had a brief moment of fame, winning four word cup events in a row within two weeks during Christmas-time 1997, which secured her the slalom cup title 1997/1998.

And after Pernilla came Anja Persson. The ladies were doing great, no doubt.

The neglecting of all young talented boys loving downhill ski racing started here. And except from the two speed Swedes mentioned above, it was a black-out.

Thirteen years later, in 2006, Markus Larsson (born in 1979) managed to strike the podium twice, winning the slalom in both Åre and Bormio. The year after, his six-year younger teammate Jens Byggmark also won twice in the slalom discipline.

Ever since Lars-Börje “Bulan” Eriksson broke his shinbone on the training run for the downhill world championship in Saalbach 1991, ending his carrier too early, there has actually not been any male Ski Team Sweden Alpine to talk about. There has been more of an individual, one man at a time show. Regardless of discipline. That’s walking on a thin line to be moderate.

What’s a team and what thus that mean?

A team consists of a group of people striving for a common goal. In alpine racing, that goal is to win races, in the extreme, world cup races. That is every racers’ goal.

Forming a team in an individual sport is complex, the athletes in the team depend on the challenge they can offer each other in training. Established skiers pass on their experiences to the next generation.

At the same time, they are competitors. Not only in the competition, but also to be nominated to one of the limited starting positions in each race. Not to mention the competition in terms of sponsorships and funding from the team.

The goal for the team around the racers should be to support the racers by all means to achieve these goals. That means support with finance, training, medical team etc.

The team is falling a part in front of our eyes.

The mindset of the officials at the Swedish ski federation seams to be the opposite, just as if they think they are the team and the racers are just the means to give the team funding to carry on their task of administrating the Swedish Ski federation.

Funding for a ski team somehow depends on history, the history of making results. Victory’s and podiums produce media time, and that’s ultimately what the team sponsors are paying for. In the big world outside Sweden, alpine racing consists of four disciplines. Neglecting three of them devalues the team value with 3/4 compared with other teams. That’s simple logic.

To be fair, there was an attempt in 2015 to form a downhill team. Starting from zero with high goals to reach medals in the upcoming World Championship in Åre 2019. The result? 15 million SEK down the drain and no results worth mention.

The ambition of the athletes, as well as their talent, was there, no doubt. But the dedication and knowledge from the staff was not. There was also a lack of endurance from the Swedish Ski Federation. Four years are not enough. To form a downhill team doing results at the highest level, the dedication has to be long-term. Meaning generations overlapping each other.

Why aren’t Olympic gold medals accountable?

Sure, some individual Swedish alpine racers have made great success also in modern time, post Anja. Especially in Slalom and the Olympics.

André Myhrer born in 1983 and Sweden’s latest slalom star, winning world cup events regularly between 2006 and 2018. Topping off with the Slalom Olympic gold medal in 2018 before he retired.

At the same Olympic, Frida Hansdotter fulfilled the success for the slalom team, also winning the gold. Four years later, Sara Hector took the Olympic gold medal in GS.

Looking back, the Swedish skiers have made a great impression in the Olympics, shouldn’t that be worth something in the sponsor market?

Firstly, the Olympics is on stage every fourth year

A company investing in association via sponsoring a team of racers wants continuously exposure, as in the world cup. Second and maybe the main reason why the Olympics don’t attract the sponsors of a national ski team is the fact that the corporate logo and association with racers are not allowed to be exposed during the Olympics.

Furthermore, they are not allowed to use the results in their own advertising afterward. In the eye of a sponsor, the Olympic medal is therefor more or less worthless.

I can think of many reasons why the Swedish ski federation is aiming hard for the Olympics rather than successes in the world cup.

One is the close connection between the Swedish Ski Federation and the Swedish Olympic Committee.

Elected officials with dual loyalties

In an historic perspective, some persons have been sitting on double chairs. The Swedish Olympic Committee investing money into the Ski Team Sweden Alpine, demanding control over how the money shall be spent to secure the outcome of the investment, ultimately an Olympic medal.

The Swedish Olympic Committee cares as little about world cup victories as the Swedish Ski Team Alpine corporate sponsors care about Olympic medals.

Some talented young Swedish athletes in the Ski Team Sweden Alpine get funding from the Swedish Olympic committee, but not all. This eases the burden on the Ski Team Sweden Alpine budget, at the same time, splits the team into A, B and C status.

Who is in charge of the Ski Team Sweden Alpine, actually?

It also gives the Swedish Olympic Committee great power over how the Ski Team Sweden Alpine is being formed. Are you an athlete with funding or not? Olympic money plays a role if you’re going to be in the right team or left behind.

Another is that competition in an Olympic event isn’t as hard as in a world cup event. Why is that? Well, in the Olympics, each nation is only allowed to nominate four athletes for each discipline. In the world cup, there is no such limit.

As an example; Andre Myhrer finished 7th at the men’s SL World cup event in Zagreb in 2018. On the starting list there were 9 Italians, 9 Austrians, 7 Germans, 6 Swiss, 6 French, 6 Americans, 6 Croatians, 6 swedes and 5 Norwegians.

24 of these skiers had to stay home at the Olympics the same year. At the same time, improving Andre Myhrer’s chance of success.

The 2024/2025 Ski Team Sweden Alpine is a paper tiger

21 talented and hopeful skiers were named to the squad. Three of them are financed by the team, one male and two women. The rest? They have to pay for their training them self on day-to-day basis, ultimate cost unknown. The same goes for traveling expenses to the upcoming races. There is no budget and there is no money.

But if you take a look in the treasure chest of the Swedish Ski Federation, there is money for sure. In the latest official balance sheet of the federation there is no less than 110 million SEK, and in the Ski team Sweden AB another 8.5 million SEK.

The officials blaming short founding on external factors such as the weak Swedish currency, inflation and a week sponsor market. The cost has gone up and the officials at the headquarters have not been able to raise the funds to meet the costs. Still, the number of officials stays the same. As a sponsor, I would ask myself where is my money going, and to whom?

The ratio of heads at the office compared to numbers of athletes is 2 to 1, but the ratio of number of heads on the payroll at the office compared to the number of athletes on the payroll is 15 to 1. As racers will drop off from the team one by one due to high personal costs, this ratio will grow even bigger.

What’s for sale in the Ski Team Sweden Alpine, actually?

The staff of officials seems to think that they are actually the product on sale. And the athletes are the customers, buying service from the Swedish ski federation with their own money as the team sponsors drops out.

If you look at the Ski Team Sweden Alpine as a production company business, Then the athletes are the product on sale, produced and owned by the Swedish Ski Federation.

Or in terms of the members of the development team, you can compare them with a sale sample. The seller presenting the potential buyer an unfinished product. Selling them with a promise to deliver a finished and competitive product in the future.

The customer is the potential sponsor, buying the product to gain profit by association.

The product on display doesn’t meet up to the requested standard

What has happened here is that the potential buyer is not satisfied with the product on display. And even worse, looking back at the producer’s latest track-record, They don’t believe they are able to produce a finished product competitive on the market.

Talking to some of the athletes on the Ski Team Sweden Alpine, they don’t believe in the Swedish ski federation’s ability either. This fact will force some of the athletes pictured above to lay their skis on the shelf, ending their ongoing carrier before reaching their full potential.

As this happens, it’s a direct consequence of the failure of the staff of officials, doing a poor job raising funds.

So the order stock is empty for the production company. A normal company would then work harder developing their products, invest more of its own money and ultimately lay off staff to cut costs. And rethink its idea of doing business. Without action, it will be bankrupt.

There is an elephant in the Swedish ski federation boardroom

Well, a near change won’t happen in the Swedish ski team. The lack of self-awareness is obvious. The spin doctors in the Swedish Ski Federation telling the world they are doing great.

No one dear to mention there is an elephant in the room, as the culture of silence is fundamental in the Swedish ski family. Everyone involved as a racer, parent to a racer or member of the staff keep quiet as the consequences of speaking out will likely strike hard on you, as well as on your closest family. Instead, they keep quiet and scratch each other’s backs.

I have been in contact with former athletes, parents and employees connected to the Ski team Sweden Alpine. They have been informing me, that they have been advised by a current member of the board of directors at the Swedish Ski Federation, to refrain from speaking freely to the press. Or else, they will experience how persona non grata in the world of alpine skiing will spell on their name. As a matter of fact, it’s not at ease I write this chronicle as I am a part of the Swedish ski family, fearing the exclusion.

With such tumors in the head of the Swedish alpine body, there is little hope for the patient to regain health.

Invested money going down the drain

Parents of a young talented skier of today investing loads of money and sweat. Sacrificing enormous amount of time into the development of the athlete trough out of its junior years. As well as the athlete itself. In order to become a part of the Ski Team Sweden Alpine, to be able to enter the world cup. To fulfill a dream. Just to find out that this is a scam.

It seems like the main interest for the staff of officials is not to produce competitive products (world-class athletes) for the market. Their main interest is to sell them self to keep their payroll rolling.

So, if I was a parent of a fifteen-year-old boy or girl, aiming to be a ski racer representing Sweden. I would do the calculation and find out, that you have to be filthy rich to pull this off. I would say to my son; this is a dead-end son, we will not go down this slope, it’s not worth it for you. And we can’t afford it as a family.

The athletes now suffer from the poor job executed by the Swedish ski federation, and the question is: How long will this go on before a revolution takes place in the Swedish alpine nation?

One thing is for sure, as long as this mindset is in the walls at the headquarters of the Swedish ski federation, this slippery slope will lead over the edge with no turning back. This is the end.

The Dø explains the theory of going down the slippery slope (Dø means die in Scandinavian, by the way).