1. Overview
Pernilla Christina Wiberg (born 15 October 1970) is a former Swedish alpine ski racer and businesswoman. She is recognized as one of the most successful alpine skiers of the 1990s, having achieved significant victories across all five alpine disciplines. Her career highlights include two Olympic gold medals, four World Championship gold medals, and one World Cup overall title. After her retirement from professional skiing in 2002, Wiberg transitioned into roles in sports governance, serving as a member of the International Olympic Committee, and engaged in activism promoting peace through sport. She also pursued business ventures and became an alpine skiing commentator.
2. Early Life and Background
Pernilla Wiberg was born on 15 October 1970, in Norrköping, Sweden. Early in her life, she developed an interest in alpine skiing, which would later become her professional career. She represented the Norrköpings SK club throughout her competitive years.
3. Skiing Career
Pernilla Wiberg's professional alpine skiing career spanned from 1990 to 2002, during which she established herself as a dominant force in the sport.
3.1. World Cup Career
Wiberg made her FIS Alpine Ski World Cup debut on 13 March 1990, in Vemdalen, Sweden, where she finished 5th in the slalom event. Just five days later, she achieved her first World Cup podium, finishing 3rd in giant slalom in Åre. In the subsequent 1991 season, she secured three World Cup victories.
Her most exceptional season was 1996-1997, during which she won ten World Cup races and claimed the overall, slalom, and combined titles. She notably surpassed Katja Seizinger, the previous year's World Cup Overall winner, by over 500 points. In the slalom discipline, Wiberg was particularly dominant, winning 5 out of 9 World Cup slalom races, finishing second twice, and third and fourth once each. In the World Cup finale weekend, she won her first-ever World Cup downhill race, making her one of the first women in history to win World Cup races in all five alpine disciplines. She also led the World Cup Super-G standings until the final race, needing only a 5th-place finish to secure the season Super-G title. Despite being on pace for a 2nd or 3rd-place finish, she went off course, losing the Super-G crystal globe to Hilde Gerg. Wiberg considered Super-G her second-best event after slalom and her favorite to ski, despite experiencing significant bad luck and disappointment in the discipline, including a 4th place at the Lillehammer Olympics, mistakes at the 1996 and 1997 World Championships, and the highly unlucky loss of the 1997 Super-G season crystal globe.
Over her career, Wiberg accumulated a total of 24 World Cup race victories, with at least one victory in each of the five different alpine disciplines. She also achieved 61 World Cup podium finishes.
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Combined |
| 1995 | Combined |
| 1997 | Overall |
| Slalom | |
| Combined |
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 19 | 45 | 17 | - | - | - | - |
| 1991 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - |
| 1992 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 28 | - | - |
| 1993 | 22 | 24 | 11 | 17 | 30 | 43 | - |
| 1994 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 1 |
| 1995 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 38 | 13 | 12 | 1 |
| 1996 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 34 | 19 | 10 | - |
| 1997 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 1998 | 27 | 35 | 24 | 28 | 36 | 29 | 11 |
| 1999 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 8 | 14 | - |
| 2000 | 29 | 33 | 28 | 41 | 21 | 22 | - |
| 2001 | 30 | 59 | - | - | 23 | 48 | - |
| 2002 | 31 | 23 | - | 57 | 13 | 10 | 12 |
| Season | Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 7 January 1991 | Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria | Slalom |
| 10 March 1991 | Lake Louise, Canada | Giant slalom | |
| 20 March 1991 | Waterville Valley, U.S. | Slalom | |
| 1992 | 28 February 1992 | Narvik, Norway | Giant slalom |
| 1993 | 6 December 1992 | Steamboat Springs, USA | Slalom |
| 1994 | 12 December 1993 | Veysonnaz, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 6 January 1994 | Morzine, France | Slalom | |
| 17 January 1994 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Super-G | |
| 5 February 1994 | Sierra Nevada, Spain | Combined | |
| 1995 | 12 March 1995 | Lenzerheide, Switzerland | Slalom |
| Combined | |||
| 1996 | 22 December 1995 | Veysonnaz, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 29 December 1995 | Semmering, Austria | Slalom | |
| 1997 | 1 December 1996 | Lake Louise, Canada | Super-G |
| 28 December 1996 | Semmering, Austria | Slalom | |
| 4 January 1997 | Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom | |
| 12 January 1997 | Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria | Super-G | |
| 19 January 1997 | Zwiesel, Germany | Slalom | |
| 2 February 1997 | Laax, Switzerland | Combined | |
| 7 March 1997 | Mammoth Mountain, U.S. | Slalom | |
| 12 March 1997 | Vail, U.S. | Downhill | |
| 16 March 1997 | Slalom | ||
| 1999 | 3 January 1999 | Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom |
| 2000 | 18 December 1999 | St. Moritz, Switzerland | Downhill |
3.2. World Championship Performance
Pernilla Wiberg competed in five FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, winning a total of six medals: four gold, one silver, and one bronze. Her first World Championship gold medal came in 1991 in Saalbach, where she won the giant slalom. This victory marked the first Alpine World Championship gold for a Scandinavian woman in 33 years. She continued her success at the 1996 Sierra Nevada championships, securing gold medals in both slalom and combined events. In 1999 in Vail, she added another gold in the combined event and a silver in slalom. She also earned a bronze medal in downhill at the 1997 championships in Sestrière.
3.3. Season Highlights
The 1996-1997 World Cup season stands out as Pernilla Wiberg's most successful. During this period, she won ten World Cup races, securing the overall World Cup title, as well as the slalom and combined discipline titles. Her dominance in slalom was particularly notable, with five victories, two second-place finishes, and one third and one fourth place in the nine World Cup slalom races that season. She concluded the season by winning her first World Cup downhill race at the finale, a feat that solidified her status as one of the few female skiers to win World Cup races in all five alpine disciplines.
3.4. Retirement
Pernilla Wiberg concluded her professional skiing career in March 2002. Her final international race was the Olympic Super-G at the 2002 Winter Olympics. She announced her retirement a few weeks later, following a surgery on her knees.
4. Olympic Participation
Pernilla Wiberg participated in four Winter Olympic Games, earning two gold and one silver medal, and was a prominent figure for the Swedish Olympic team.
4.1. 1992 Albertville Olympics
At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, Wiberg won her first Olympic gold medal in the giant slalom event. This marked a significant early achievement in her Olympic career.
4.2. 1994 Lillehammer Olympics
Wiberg continued her Olympic success at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, where she secured another gold medal in the combined event. At both the 1992 and 1994 Olympics, Wiberg was recognized as the most successful Swedish athlete. She also had the honor of being the flag bearer for Sweden during the opening ceremony of the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics.
4.3. 1998 Nagano Olympics
In the 1998 Winter Olympics held in Nagano, Japan, Pernilla Wiberg earned a silver medal in the downhill event. Wiberg considers this achievement to be the best of her career.
4.4. 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics
Wiberg's final Olympic appearance was at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States. At 31 years old, she finished 14th in downhill and 12th in Super-G, failing to reach the top ten in either event. The Olympic Super-G race marked the end of her international competitive career.
5. Awards and Recognition
Pernilla Wiberg received several prestigious awards for her outstanding achievements in alpine skiing. In 1991, she was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal, one of Sweden's highest sports honors. The jury cited her "sensational giant slalom victory in the World Championships, secured through a bold and skillful second leg" as the motivation for the award. In the same year, 1991, she also received the Jerring Award, a public vote award for Swedish athletes, an honor she received again in 1992.
6. International Olympic Committee Service
Following her retirement from competitive skiing, Pernilla Wiberg was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2002. She served an eight-year term, concluding in 2010. During her tenure, she was an active member of several key IOC commissions, including the Athletes' Commission (from 2002), Sport and Environment Commission (2002), Ethics Commission (from 2003), Coordination Commission for the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010 (from 2003), and the Nominations Commission (from 2003). On 2 September 2008, the IOC announced that Wiberg would chair a commission appointed by IOC president Jacques Rogge. This commission was tasked with analyzing the projects of the shortlisted cities vying to host the first Winter Youth Olympic Games. Her involvement in these roles highlights her commitment to sports governance, athlete welfare, and the promotion of the Olympic movement.
7. Activism and Peace Promotion
Pernilla Wiberg is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, an initiative by Peace and Sport, an international organization based in Monaco. This club comprises famous elite athletes dedicated to using sport as a tool for promoting peace worldwide. As of November 2018, the group included 114 members. Other notable 'Champions for Peace' members include Ukrainian former pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, British long-distance runner Paula Radcliffe, and Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic. Wiberg's involvement underscores her commitment to leveraging the power of sport for global peace and social development.
8. Business and Media Ventures
After her skiing career, Pernilla Wiberg ventured into business and media. She owns and operates the Pernilla Wiberg Hotel located at Idre Fjäll in Dalarna, Sweden. In addition to her entrepreneurial pursuits, she works as an alpine skiing commentator for Sveriges Television, Sweden's national public television broadcaster.
9. Personal Life
Pernilla Wiberg is married to Bødvar Bjerke. Together, they have two children: a son, Axel, born in 2003, and a daughter, Sofia, born in 2007. Since 1995, Wiberg has resided in Monaco.
10. Discography
Pernilla Wiberg also briefly engaged in musical endeavors. In 1992, she released a single titled "Privilege," which reached position 39 on the Swedish charts.
11. Legacy and Impact
Pernilla Wiberg's legacy in alpine skiing is defined by her exceptional versatility and consistent success across all disciplines. As one of the few "all-event winners" in the World Cup, she demonstrated a rare mastery of downhill, Super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and combined events. Her two Olympic gold medals, four World Championship titles, and a World Cup overall title firmly establish her as one of the most prominent and influential alpine ski racers of the 1990s. Beyond her athletic achievements, Wiberg's transition into roles within the International Olympic Committee and her active participation in initiatives like 'Champions for Peace' highlight her broader impact as a public figure dedicated to sportsmanship, governance, and social development through sport. Her post-athletic career in business and media further solidifies her enduring presence and influence.