Stina Nilsson (born 24 June 1993) is a Swedish former biathlete and former cross-country skier. She is a five-time Olympic medalist and the 2018 Olympic champion in the individual sprint. In March 2020 she announced that she would switch to competing in biathlon. In April 2024, she announced her return to cross-country skiing, this time as a long-distance racer. On 2 March 2025, she won the women's edition of Vasaloppet.
Career 2011–12: World Cup debut and Junior World Champion Stina Nilsson finished 23rd in her World Cup debut in Drammen on 7 March 2012. Nilsson won the gold medal in the sprint event at the 2012 Junior World Championships in Erzurum, Turkey.
2012–13 At the 2013 Junior World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic, Nilsson defended her gold medal in the sprint.
2013–14: First Olympic medal and World Cup podium On 19 February 2014, Nilsson and Ida Ingemarsdotter, won bronze medals together in the team sprint at the Olympic Games in Sochi. Nilsson also finished 10th in the individual sprint. She made her first individual World Cup podium on 5 March, having finished third in the classical sprint in Drammen.
2014–15: Falun World Championships Nilsson won three silver medals at the 2015 World Championships in Falun; On 19 February in the individual sprint, on 22 February in the team sprint (with Ida Ingemarsdotter), and on 26 February in the 4 × 5 km relay (with Sofia Bleckur, Charlotte Kalla, and Maria Rydqvist). Nilsson won the Under-23 World Cup title for the 2014–2015 season and finished fourth in the Sprint World Cup.
2015–16 She defended the U23 World Cup title in the 2015–2016 season and finished third in the Sprint World Cup, having won three individual sprint events over the season.
2016–17 On 2 March 2017, she won the silver medal in the 4 × 5 km relay (with Anna Haag, Charlotte Kalla, and Ebba Andersson) at the World Championships in Lahti. Nilsson won nine individual World Cup races over the 2016–2017 season, finishing fourth in the Overall World Cup and second in the Sprint World Cup. She also finished overall-third in the Tour de Ski.
2017–18: Four Olympic medals Nilsson won four medals at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. On 13 February she became an Olympic champion, having won the gold medal in the individual sprint. On 17 and 21 February respectively, she won silver medals in the 4 × 5 km relay (with Anna Haag, Charlotte Kalla, and Ebba Andersson) and in the team sprint (with Charlotte Kalla). On 25 February, Nilsson won a surprise bronze in the 30 km classical mass start. She also finished 10th in the 15 km skiathlon. She finished second in the 2017–2018 Sprint World Cup, having won three individual sprint events over the season.
She was awarded the Victoria Scholarship in 2018.
2018-19: Continued World Championship success Nilsson started the season off successfully, but injured her thigh in an extreme finish line stretch at the Otepää sprint event. She managed to recover just in time to return to competition at the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld, where she started her campaign with a silver medal in the freestyle sprint. She then went on to win her first World Championships gold medals in the classical team sprint and the 4 × 5 kilometre relay; in the latter, she anchored Sweden to the win by sprinting past Therese Johaug of Norway in the final uphill. Nilsson's success continued for the rest of the season and included a distance win at the World Cup finals in Quebec. She won the Sprint World Cup for the first time in her career.
2019-20: Injuries, switch to biathlon Nilsson suffered a rib injury in the summer, but started the season with stable results, including 2nd places in the sprint and team sprint in Planica. At the first event of the Tour de Ski, however, the injury aggravated and she was forced to quit the Tour. She soon decided to end her season early after the recovery training proved to have been too heavy. The podiums in Planica turned out to be her last as a cross-country skier.
On 22 March, she officially announced the unexpected news that she was switching sports to biathlon on her Instagram account. She left cross-country skiing as one of Sweden's most decorated skiers of the 2010s.
2020-21: First steps in biathlon For most of the 2020–21 season, Nilsson competed in the IBU Cup, where her season highlight was an 8th place in the pursuit at Brezno. A 2nd place in a relay held the same weekend marked Nilsson's first international biathlon podium. She also took part in the European Championships in January, placing 42nd in the sprint and 38th in the pursuit; struggles with shooting were consistently present during Nilsson's debut season.
In March 2021, Nilsson was selected to the Swedish team at their home World Cup competitions in Östersund, Sweden. She managed to perform well events, placing 26th in the sprint and 22nd in the pursuit, thus collecting her first world cup points already in her very first competitions in the Biathlon World Cup.
2021-22: First World Cup podiums in biathlon, Olympic roster In the spring of 2021, Nilsson officially became part of Sweden's national biathlon team, having previously held a so-called "developmental" spot in the team. In the summer biathlon Swedish championships, she sensationally won gold over the Öberg sisters, Elvira and Hanna.
Nilsson's second season as a biathlete saw her secure a near-permanent spot at the starting line in World Cup competitions; she took part in almost all WC weekends. Managing to recover her skiing speed and improving her aim, she reached the top twenty in eight individual competitions. In January 2022, she celebrated her first World Cup podium, a second place at the relay in Ruhpolding, where she got to ski a leg at the absence of Sweden's biggest biathlon stars. In March, Nilsson reached her first individual podium in biathlon when she placed third in the sprint at Kontiolahti, Finland.
She was named as the last athlete into the Swedish biathlon team for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, her first as a biathlete. Due to the success of her more seasoned teammates, Nilsson did not get to start in any of the races, which prevented her from getting a first chance at winning an Olympic medal in both cross-country skiing and biathlon.
Cross-country skiing results All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Olympic Games 5 medals – (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze) Year Age 10 km individual 15 km skiathlon 30 km mass start Sprint 4 × 5 km relay Team sprint 2014 20 — — — 10 — Bronze 2018 24 — 10 Bronze Gold Silver Silver
World Championships 7 medals – (2 gold, 5 silver) Year Age 10 km individual 15 km skiathlon 30 km mass start Sprint 4 × 5 km relay Team sprint 2013 19 — — — 5 — — 2015 21 — — — Silver Silver Silver 2017 23 13 26 — 12 Silver 4 2019 25 — — — Silver Gold Gold
World Cup Season titles 3 titles – (2 U23, 1 Sprint) SeasonDiscipline2015 Under-232016 Under-232019 Sprint
Season standings Season Age Discipline standingsSki Tour standingsOverallDistanceSprintU23NordicOpeningTour deSkiSki Tour2020World CupFinalSki TourCanada 2012 18 93 — 63 — — — 2013 19 67 — 38 — — — 2014 20 35 72 12 52 — 2015 21 12 41 4 21 2016 22 11 23 24 2017 23 4 6 5 2018 24 12 33 7 — — 2019 25 5 20 6 2020 26 29 46 16 11 —
Individual podiums 23 victories – (12 , 11 ) 41 podiums – (24 , 17 ) No. Season Date Location Race Level Place1 2013–14 5 March 2014 Drammen, Norway 1.3 km Sprint C World Cup 3rd2 14 March 2014 Falun, Sweden 1.2 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 3rd3 2014–15 21 December 2014 Davos, Switzerland 1.3 km Sprint F World Cup 2nd4 17 January 2015 Otepää, Estonia 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd5 14 February 2015 Östersund, Sweden 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 3rd6 2015–16 27 November 2015 Rukatunturi, Finland 1.4 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 2nd7 29 November 2015 10 km C Pursuit Stage World Cup 2nd8 27–29 November 2015 Nordic Opening Overall Standings World Cup 2nd9 13 December 2015 Davos, Switzerland 1.6 km Sprint F World Cup 1st10 19 December 2015 Toblach, Italy 1.3 km Sprint F World Cup 3rd11 16 January 2016 Planica, Slovenia 1.2 km Sprint F World Cup 1st12 11 February 2016 Stockholm, Sweden 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 3rd13 1 March 2016 Gatineau, Canada 1.7 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 2nd14 4 March 2016 Quebec City, Canada 1.5 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 1st15 2016–17 26 November 2016 Rukatunturi, Finland 1.4 km Sprint C World Cup 1st16 31 December 2016 Val Müstair, Switzerland 1.5 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 1st17 3 January 2017 Oberstdorf, Germany 5 km + 5 km C/F Skiathlon Stage World Cup 1st18 4 January 2017 10 km F Pursuit Stage World Cup 1st19 7 January 2017 Val di Fiemme, Italy 10 km C Mass Start Stage World Cup 1st20 31 December 2016– 8 January 2017 Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 3rd21 28 January 2017 Falun, Sweden 1.4 km Sprint F World Cup 1st22 18 February 2017 Otepää, Estonia 1.3 km Sprint F World Cup 1st23 8 March 2017 Drammen, Norway 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 1st24 17 March 2017 Quebec City, Canada 1.5 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 1st25 19 March 2017 10 km F Pursuit Stage World Cup 3rd26 17–19 March 2017 World Cup Final Overall Standings World Cup 3rd27 2017–18 24 November 2017 Rukatunturi, Finland 1.4 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 1st28 9 December 2017 Davos, Switzerland 1.5 km Sprint F World Cup 1st29 20 January 2018 Planica, Slovenia 1.4 km Sprint C World Cup 1st30 3 March 2018 Lahti, Finland 1.4 km Sprint F World Cup 2nd31 7 March 2018 Drammen, Norway 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd32 2018–19 30 November 2018 Lillehammer, Norway 1.3 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 2nd33 15 December 2018 Davos, Switzerland 1.5 km Sprint F World Cup 1st34 29 December 2018 Toblach, Italy 1.3 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 1st35 1 January 2019 Val Müstair, Switzerland 1.4 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 1st36 12 January 2019 Dresden, Germany 1.6 km Sprint F World Cup 1st37 16 March 2019 Falun, Sweden 1.4 km Sprint F World Cup 1st38 22 March 2019 Quebec City, Canada 1.6 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 1st39 23 March 2019 10 km C Mass Start Stage World Cup 1st40 22–24 March 2019 World Cup Final Overall Standings World Cup 1st41 2019–20 21 December 2019 Planica, Slovenia 1.2 km Sprint F World Cup 2nd
Team podiums 3 victories – (3 ) 7 podiums – (1 , 6 ) No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammate(s)1 2012–13 13 January 2013 Liberec, Czech Republic 6 × 0.85 km Team Sprint F World Cup 2nd Ingemarsdotter 2 2014–15 18 January 2015 Otepää, Estonia 6 × 1.2 km Team Sprint F World Cup 1st Ingemarsdotter3 2015–16 17 January 2016 Planica, Slovenia 6 × 1.2 km Team Sprint F World Cup 1st Ingemarsdotter4 2016–17 18 December 2016 La Clusaz, France 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Wikén / Rydqvist / Dyvik5 2017–18 14 January 2018 Dresden, Germany 6 × 1.3 km Team Sprint F World Cup 2nd Falk 6 2018–19 13 January 2019 Dresden, Germany 6 × 1.6 km Team Sprint F World Cup 1st Dahlqvist7 2019–20 22 December 2019 Planica, Slovenia 6 × 1.2 km Team Sprint F World Cup 2nd Sundling
Biathlon results All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.
World Cup Season Overall Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Points Position Points Position Points Position Points Position Points Position2020-21 34 71st - - 15 73rd 19 59th - -
Individual podiums 0 victories 1 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Place1 2021–22 5 March 2022 Kontiolahti Sprint 3rd
Team podiums 0 victories 1 podiums No. Season Date Location Race Place Team1 2021–22 14 January 2022 Ruhpolding Relay 2nd Skottheim / Nilsson / Brorsson / Magnusson
*Results are from IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.
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