Anja Pärson gets a new chance in the Master of Masters.
Then she says what everyone thinks about Ingemar Stenmark, who won the competition in 2011.
– It doesn’t feel like any pressure on me at all, she says, laughing.
When SVT’s long-running Mästarnas mästar was broadcast in the spring of 2023, the idea was that Anja Pärson would be one of the participants. A year ago, her participation was announced, but in a training session before the recordings, the Olympic legend hurt her calf, which led to her being forced to cancel her participation.
Set against the icons
Anja Pärson would otherwise have been a given candidate to win the entire race, not least considering what previous participants from the alpine branch have done during the program’s history. Charlotte Kalla was also forced to cancel her participation, but now it is clear that Anja Pärson, one of Sweden’s greatest winter athletes ever, will get a new chance in the program.
When SVT on Monday announced the program’s contestants for the next season, which will be broadcast in spring 2024, Pärson was one of the contestants. During the recordings this fall, she will, among other things, be pitted against speedway legend Tony Rickardsson, newly retired hockey player Joel Lundqvist and soccer player Sebastian Larsson. But despite the fact that it was significantly more years since Pärson ended her career than it was for example Larsson and Lundqvist, she cannot be counted out.
READ MORE: Pernilla Wiberg’s confession about Ingemar Stenmark – reveals a whole new side of the icon: “He is very…”
Absolutely perfect word
Perhaps not least because of the fact that Alpine icons have been so extremely successful in the program. In 2011 Ingemar Stenmark won the program, and in 2021 it was André Myhrer’s turn. And Pärson believes that the pressure is now on her – at the same time that she takes the opportunity to pay huge tribute to the icon Ingemar Stenmark.
– It doesn’t feel like any pressure on me at all, says Anja Pärson to TT, and calls Stenmark “unique”.
However, Pärson believes he has an explanation for why alpine skiers do so well in the program.
– Alpinists in general are half-good at most things, and that’s probably the versatility we’ve gained over the years. But it’s been eleven years since I’ve been active so we’ll see how I’ve kept in shape.
READ MORE: Ingemar Stenmark’s unknown side that completely surprises Gunde Svan: “Never met anyone like him”