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Anja
Paerson on the footsteps of Pernilla
Wiberg
By Manuèle Lang
Sweden is not considered a “big”
alpine ski country – but two
of its most famous champions belong
to the Hall of Fame of the “White
Circus” – Ingemar Stenmark
and Pernilla Wiberg. Both have dominated
their times, Stenmark in setting a
record of 86 World Cup wins from 1974
to 1989 and Wiberg in winning the
Overall title in 1997 after obtaining
victories in all events including
downhill. She also clinched a total
of six gold medals at Olympics and
World Championships from 1991 to 1999.
After ending her career two years
ago, she became a successful businesswoman
in sports marketing as well as a happy
mother last summer.
Anja Paerson is definitely on her
best way to join this exclusive club
– at only 22, the Monte Carlo
resident is already dominating the
rest of the field as only a few athletes
before her.
Two weeks ago, she celebrated a unique
double win in Park City’s US
World Cup Opening, crushing her rivals
first in giant slalom then in slalom.
She achieved a similar performance
last January in Slovenia’s Maribor
before capturing her second gold medal
at St Moritz in giant slalom. She
also clinched the GS World Cup Trophy
at the end of the season in Norway’s
Lillehammer.
More great win for Anja
In Madonna di Campiglio, where the
women’s competed this week on
the legendary “Canalone Miramonti”
slope a day after the men, she was
aiming for the same achievement after
capturing the first slalom. She will
travel with a solid lead to St Moritz
where she planned to enter her first
World Cup downhill on Sunday.
After accumulating the victories in
the junior races until 1998, Anja
became at 17 the youngest female the
win a World Cup slalom in November
in California’s Mammoth Mountain.
In February 2001, she captured her
first gold medal in slalom at the
worlds in St Anton.
She kept on progressing, winning as
many World Cup events as Croatia’s
Janica Kostelic last season –
6 – yet in both technical specialties.
No wonder that her next goal beside
an Olympic title in 2006 is the big
World Cup Crystal globe she already
admired in Pernilla’s hands when
she was a young racer.
“Pernilla is for sure my row
model, I will try hard to do as well
as her – hopefully even better”
Anja admits when questioned about
her career goals. “I’m already
getting close to her with the two
gold medals, my silver and my two
bronze medals I clinched since 2001
and my 13 World Cup wins, but there
is still much to do to equal her.
To win in all specialties is incredible.
You have to work out so hard all the
time. She was a perfectionist –
in fact she still is now as a mother!
I saw her often in Monte Carlo but
I didn’t qualify yet to be the
babysitter of her child. I also admire
Stenmark who comes from Taernaby as
me – I often see him in Monaco,
he is still great. He impresses me
still when I see him working out on
the beach!”
Enjoy her season
Despite her strong lead in the
Overall standings, Anja is not thinking
about the 2004 Overall Cup title –
not year at least. She first wants
to enjoy her season and be a colorful
animator of the women’s tour
which lost it’s biggest start
this season with Janica Kostelic,
forced to rest because of serious
health problems.
“It will definitely be my main
goal after Turin 2006 when I’ll
have more experience and a stronger
technique in the speed events. But
you never know – it also depends
on your results during the entire
season. It’s only in February
that you can start to really think
about winning the Overall or a specialty
World Cup title”.
In Monte-Carlo, where she lives since
last year, Anja trains hard in the
same fitness-club than Pernilla and
other stars as Kjetil Aamodt, Hans
Petter Buraas or Kalle Palander. “When
you spend hours there to suffer during
the off-season, you know that you
did your best to be in good shape
and this gives you a lot of confidence”
she explains. “When I’m
standing at the start of a race, I
know I have done my best to best ready
to win”.
A relaxed attitude.
But it’s not so much her
determination and her hard training
which makes actually Paerson so strong
– she believes that her relaxed
attitude is helping her even more.
“I don’t feel so much pressure
on me now, I have already achieved
a lot now and I’m looking forward
to have more fun while competing”.
“I changed my attitude before
last season. I became more professional
in a way. I am extremely focused on
my training and my racing now. Previously
I felt bad when I was so much away
from home and I missed my boy-friend
too, but last year, I made the choice
to totally dedicate my time and my
thoughts to my career. It’s the
only way to reach the top and stay
there. I accepted to made hard sacrifices
and it worked out fine. This was essential”.
Each detail counts
“All the efforts I put in my
career for so many years are finally
paying back. I have always been very
competitive. I understand what it
needs to go up there, what you have
to do to be a winner. I always think
about ways to improve and be better
in each of my actions, including the
way to pack my bags or my material.
Each detail counts at the end. I learned
soon to give my best and fight hard
to be the best. It goes back in the
years when I was a child and when
I competed with my cousins. I often
was the only girl in a group of boys
in Taernaby and I challenged them
all the time when we played together.
I also have an older sister and I
tried hard to beat her when we skied
together”.
Anja, who is trained by her father
Anders, the Swedish head coach, is
looking forward to compete in St Moritz
where she enjoyed so much success
in February. “I wanted to pick
a good place because I don’t
want to take extra risks” she
said. “I have already scored
some points in Super-G with some smooth
runs but there is a big difference
when you are trying really hard. I
will see how the training goes before
taking my decision. If I enter among
the best 15-20, I may also go for
the downhill. I have time to improve
in this specialty - I’m only
22. After 2006, I will regularly compete
in all events and hopefully achieve
one of the few goals that Pernilla
missed – winning gold in downhill
somewhere!” Maybe in 2007 in
Are in front of her fans!
ML
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