She has competed in cross-country skiing at the Olympics and in biathlon at the World Championships. But after her career, she moved to Norway to become a Swedish expert commentator on TV!

The 43-year-old Anna-Karin Strömstedt now lists Voksenkollen, Oslo, as her home address. She moved there with her partner, Henrik, in 2015. However, for the past three years, she has been a Swedish expert commentator on TV for Viaplay’s broadcasts of the World Cup, where she is the sidekick to commentator Per Forsberg.

The plan is to continue next season, but it is a lot of work traveling around the world to comment on skiing.

“I work more than full-time in the winter, so I try to work a bit less and spend more time with the kids in the summer,” says Anna-Karin, who has an 8-year-old son, Frans, and a 5-year-old daughter, Sonja, at home.

“They are very active and participate in all sorts of activities. Mostly in the club Try, but also a bit in Heming,” says Strömstedt to Langd.se.

Training with Bjørgen & Co

And it’s not just anyone who is part of Anna-Karin Strömstedt’s daily social circle. In the neighboring team are Marit Bjørgen, Ella Gjømle Berg, Sandra Hanevold, and not far away, Therese Johaug. The group trains a lot together, and we guess that the fitness level is not far from their active days.

“We have actually thought about participating in the Norwegian championships in relay, but we haven’t managed to organize it yet,” laughs the former national team skier who comes from Vansbro in Dalarna.

The Dalarna dialect hasn’t disappeared, and for some reason, there are many Swedes living in the area up in Voksenåsen high above Oslo, where the family lives.

“For a while, there were Swedes living in 7 out of the 13 houses here in the alley. I don’t really know why it turned out that way,” says Anna-Karin.

Voksenåsen is located at the top above Holmenkollen, with Nordmarka and the terrain right around the corner.

“It’s almost like living in the mountains. It’s great. Here, there is a short distance to running, skiing, alpine, and orienteering. I enjoy it a lot, but I’m not sure I would have liked living in the city center like we did in the beginning.”

Almost Decided the Olympic Relay in 2006

In the Olympic relay in Pragelato outside Turin, Anna-Karin almost achieved a major feat in the final stretch in 2006. She broke away on the last climb before the stadium and got a gap. Sweden was on its way to a sensational Olympic gold, but she was caught and lost the sprint for the medals.

Nevertheless, her merit list includes a victory in a World Cup relay, a World Junior Championships gold in the relay, and a 5th place in a World Cup sprint. Additionally, she has two individual Swedish Championships bronze medals from 2006.

Surprising Switch to Biathlon

But in 2010, she made a surprising switch to biathlon.

“I don’t really know why it happened. I saw biathlon on TV and thought I wanted to try it. At the same time, I had planned to quit cross-country skiing and retire. But I got hold of a rifle and went to Dala-Järna, where I trained for three weeks.”

“The goal was to compete in the Swedish Championships, and it went so well that I made it to the national team. Thus, I got another four years of my career,” says Anna-Karin, reflecting on the period from 2010 to 2014.

And she achieved a 5th place in the World Championship relay in Ruhpolding in 2012, a 12th place as her best individual result, and several other good placements that earned World Cup points.

Also Skilled in Orienteering

Nowadays, she maintains her fitness at a high recreational level. So high that she ran the first leg in Heming’s team in the Venla relay in orienteering this summer. There, she beat Krista Pärmäkoski.

“Orienteering is also fun. I have actually won a stage in my class at O-Ringen once,” says Anna-Karin Strömstedt, the Norwegian Swede who is an expert commentator for Viaplay’s World Cup broadcasts.

• Name: Anna-Karin Strömstedt 
• Age/Born: 43 years/1981 
• Residence: Oslo 
• Occupation: Expert commentator for Viaplay, personal trainer, economics education 
• Family: Partner Henrik, Frans 8 years, Sonja 5 years 
• Ended Career: 2014 
• Best Memory: The relay at the 2006 Olympics. Skied the final leg and was in 2nd place but lost the sprint and finished 4th. Sad, but an amazing experience. 
• What I Miss: Going on training camps with a great team and getting really exhausted. 
• How I Follow the Sport Today: Follow the cross-country skiing world a lot since I work as an expert commentator. 
• Hobbies: Playing the violin, orienteering, and training. 

Anna-Karin Strömstedt – Results

Cross-Country Skiing

• 1st World Cup 4×5 km relay, Davos (SUI), 2007 (with Lina Andersson, Charlotte Kalla, and Britta Norgren)
• 1st World Junior Championships relay 1998, St. Moritz
• 3rd World Cup team sprint, Sapporo (JPN) 2006 (with Britta Norgren)
• 4th Olympic 4×5 km relay, Turin/Pragelato (ITA) 2006 (with Anna Dahlberg, Elin Ek, and Britta Norgren)
• 5th World Cup sprint, Nove Mesto (CZE) 2005-2006
• 10th World Cup 10 km classic, Otepää (EST) 2006
• 1st Scandinavian Cup 10 km classic, Vuokatti (FIN) 2005-06
• 3rd Swedish Championships sprint freestyle, Luleå/Boden 2006
• 3rd Swedish Championships 10 km classic, Luleå/Boden 2006
• 9th Vasaloppet 90 km classic, Sälen-Mora 2003

Biathlon

• 5th World Championship relay, Ruhpolding (GER) 2012 (with Jenny Jonson, Anna Maria Uusitalo, and Helena Ekholm)
• 5th World Cup mixed relay, Presque Isle (USA) 2011 (with Bettan Högberg, Ted Armgren, and Fredrik Lindström)
• 12th World Cup sprint, Hochfilzen (AUT) 2013
• 13th World Cup sprint, Holmenkollen (NOR) 2014
• 15th World Cup pursuit, Holmenkollen (NOR) 2012
• 16th World Cup sprint, Hochfilzen (AUT) 2012
• 16th World Cup pursuit, Holmenkollen (NOR) 2014

Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.