Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT, Paul Wennerholm/TT
She is the world’s best orienteer, but dreams of competing in the Olympics in a completely different sport.
Tove Alexandersson is betting on the Olympic Games in 2026 when ski alpinism is on the program.
– The goal is to qualify with a team for the Olympics and also individually in the sprint, she tells Sportbibeln.
The first WC gold at senior level came in 2011. Since then, Tove Alexandersson32, continued to pick up gold medals on an ongoing basis. She has 21 World Cup gold (33 World Cup medals in total), 10 European Championship gold (16 medals) and nine overall victories in the World Cup in a row (2014-2023). In 2022, she was honored with the HK King’s Medal in gold for her incredible sporting achievements. The other day, she was named orienteer of the year for the twelfth time when the Swedish journalist corps had to vote for a winner.
Tove has WC medals in five sports
Tove Alexandersson is truly unique. She is not only world champion in orienteering, but fights on many different fronts at the same time. She has won WC gold in three different sports: orienteering, ski orienteering and sky running. In addition, she has a World Cup silver in trail running and a World Cup bronze medal in ski alpinism, which is also called skimo. It involves climbing the slopes with the skis on your back and then going downhill.
When the Swedish star, who won the Jerring Prize and became Female Athlete of the Year at the 2019 Sports Gala, looks ahead to the coming year, she mentions that there will be a big investment in skiing this winter.
– It will be a very exciting year. Now this winter, there will be full focus on skimo, I will ride pretty much the entire world cup to try to qualify both with a team for the mixed relay and for the individual sprint in the Olympics. Then I’m looking forward to a WC in orienteering in Finland this summer, that’s the big goal for the orienteering season, she tells Sportbibeln.
Alexandersson’s Olympic venture
She sees no problem in competing in several sports at the same time. Some seasons she invests more in something and other seasons another sport is the focus. Orientation, on the other hand, is her first priority.
– In terms of training, I think it is quite possible to combine. The basis itself is quite similar, a lot of basic training with a lot of training hours. Then I think it’s good to be able to vary the training. What is the challenge is to get it together with competing if there are too many competitions and just this being able to be in good shape for a large part of the year.
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The reason that much of the focus is on ski alpinism this winter is that she wants to participate in the Olympics in Milan and Cortina in 2026. It is the first time that the sport is on the program. Orientation has never been included, which means that Tove Alexandersson never had the chance to participate before. In other words, it would be great for her to be able to participate.
Tove Alexandersson’s goals for 2025
She has previously been hesitant to continue competing in the sport in which she won the EC as recently as January, the reason being that the longer distances she loves most will not feature in the Olympics. Despite the fact that she previously announced that she had ended her bid for the championship in 2026, she has changed her mind and is more determined than ever.
Now the question is whether she succeeds in qualifying for the sprint – which is done via the WC or via the world ranking – and which male skater she will compete in the mixed relay with.
– The goal is to qualify with a team for the Olympics and also individually in the sprint. What I will have the most focus on this winter are these mixed relays. That is where I feel I need to perform at my very best in order for us to get a team that qualifies for the Olympics. That’s my main focus this winter, to make sure we get a team in the mixed relay in the Olympics, she says.
Good luck with the season, Tove. You are absolutely awesome to have won WC medals in five (!) different sports. It’s absolutely insanely impressive. Really hope you and Sweden make it to the 2026 Olympics.
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